Here’s How ‘Chicago Fire’ Paid Tribute to DuShon Monique Brown

At the end of Thursday night’s Chicago Fire episode, the cast and crew paid tribute to DuShon Monique Brown with a title card before the end credits. The simple card showed and image of the actress.

The 49-year-old Brown died suddenly on March 23, reportedly from a heart attack. Her final appearance as Chief Boden’s assistant Connie on the show came during last week’s two-hour episode, where she gave her trademark long look at the Firehouse 51 team for their non-work related fax.

Brown appeared in 54 episodes of the series.

“The Chicago Fire family is devastated to lose one of its own,” Chicago Fire executive producer Dick Wolf said in a statement on Friday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with DuShon’s family and we will all miss her.”

After her death, the Chicago Fire cast took to Twitter to celebrate her life and legacy. Yuri Sardarov, who plays Otis on the series, launched a GoFundMe account, which has raised $17,331 in five days.

“We are shocked, and will miss her immensely. She is survived by her daughter, and fiancé,” reads the GoFundMe page. “Despite her visibility and involvement in a television show, DuShon was not a salaried actor. She had a full time job as a Chicago Public School’s counselor. Please join us in offering DuShon and family support during this very difficult time. Your generosity will help fund the cost of funeral arrangements and other financial burdens that her family must shoulder.”

The showrunner, Derek Haas has also been mourning Brown’s loss.

“Very sad to hear about DuShon’s passing yesterday,” Haas wrote last Saturday. “I’m grateful we got to work with her and so happy she got to make millions of people smile. She will be greatly missed.”

Co-star, Jesse Spencer who plays Casey also expressed his condolences via Twitter, writing, “Our beautiful Dushon Monique Brown passed away on Friday. You will be sorely missed by your family and ourselves. Thanks for all the great laughs we had. Love.”

Brown was an experienced stage actress in Chicago, and also appeared in episodes of Shameless, Empire, Boss and Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams.

Fans at home praised the Chicago Fire team’s simple tribute to the beloved actress.

New episodes of Chicago Fire air on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.