A couple’s trip  to the Dominican Republic turned tragic  for a 41-year-old Indiana mom who died after a mysterious illness claimed her life  on the flight home.

About halfway through the flight from Punta Cana to Charlotte, North Carolina, the seemingly healthy woman fell fatally ill, and efforts to revive her failed.

Keep reading to learn more about the heartbreaking death of the beautiful woman who “loved so big.”

On February 28, Indiana’s Stefanie Smith and her boyfriend Derek boarded an American Airlines flight to head home after sharing a dream vacation with another couple in Dominican Republic.

But the mother of two, who appeared to be healthy, would never make it back to the U.S.

According to a media release from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, about 6:12 p.m., Smith “fell ill mid-flight” and the plane made an emergency landing at Providenciales International Airport in Turks and Caicos.

Smith, who works as an x-ray technician, was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

“We made some lasting memories. Unfortunately, good times don’t always last. Our last day on the resort all [four] of us had breakfast, took one more group picture and departed ways to go home,” Maria Yannotti, who was travelling with Smith and Derek, wrote on her Facebook .

Yanotti explained that the two couples took different flights and she had not been with Smith when she suddenly fell ill. “As we were sitting at our layover in Miami, Clay [partner] received a phone call…it was Derek. He had told us that Stefanie had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in her seat on the plane. They had to make an emergency stop in [Turks] and Caicos and medical professionals did everything they could to revive Stefanie.”