Shawna Kilbert held on just long enough to meet another one of her goals: Her 34th birthday party.

On March 21, about 100 people filled the Kilberts' backyard in Clovis. There, under a huge tent, Mrs. Kilbert -- in the final stages of cancer and in a wheelchair -- partied in what would be her final celebration.

The 34-year-old wife, mother and schoolteacher died Friday at home with family and friends by her side.

The rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and a funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, both at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 355 E. Champlain Drive. Graveside services will be at Clovis Cemetery following Friday's service.

Mrs. Kilbert endured a 21/2-year battle with cervical cancer that eventually spread to her lungs, liver and brain. Even as she became weaker, family and friends said the cancer never took away her spirit.

Dan Kilbert said his wife was an inspiration to many and was brave to the very end. She spent her final weeks making sure her two boys, Preston, 6, and Logan, 3, had a home full of lasting memories. "She did everything she wanted. She was at peace. She said she had no regrets," he said. "She passed away unbelievably peacefully."

Mrs. Kilbert learned she had cervical cancer in August 2006. On one of her blog postings on carepages.com -- a Web site for patients coping with illness -- she described having cancer as like being a pingpong ball in the middle of a hurricane and unable to escape. Just as things seemed to be improving, there would be another setback.

She stopped teaching at Cooper Middle School last year when her cancer spread. Dan Kilbert also took time off this year as head coach of the women's basketball team at Reedley College to be with his wife. The two met when they taught summer school at Bullard High School and married seven years ago.

Determined to make a difference, Mrs. Kilbert and five of her close friends launched The Shawna Kilbert Project in January. The foundation will help women with cervical cancer get help with child care, grocery shopping and family meals, and provide education about the disease.

In February, Mrs. Kilbert was admitted to the hospital. All treatment options had been exhausted, and few people thought she would make it out -- but she did. She didn't want to die in the hospital, but she also didn't want to miss her son's birthday that weekend, her husband said.

The past few weeks, she worked to make sure her home was filled with family photos of happier times. She organized letters and gifts for her two boys to open on special occasions: first dates, graduations, 18th birthdays. She even packed away engraved beer mugs for when her boys turn 21.

At Mrs. Kilbert's birthday party, friends wheeled her out to the dance floor and danced with her. She wanted to hold on for her party, said Dan Kilbert, even though the night before she told him she was afraid she wouldn't make it.

She had a strong will and a strong spirit, said close friend Lisa Cobb. "She was vivacious and totally lived life to the fullest," she said. "I like to say she had cancer, but the cancer never had her."