The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an illness that tends to mainly affect the respiratory system. It was originally reported to the World Health Organizations (WHO) on December 31, 2019 and on January 30, 2020 WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global health emergency. With the virus killing millions, many began to quarantine and started to wear masks. COVID-19 has and still is affecting everyone, from the virtual meetings to the dreaded COVID tests and the restless nights spent worrying about loved ones. This pandemic has been a sensitive and stressful topic for everyone. 

My grandpa Jonathan Weeks passed away on January 25, 2021 due to COVID-19. Jon Weeks was an amazing Husband, Father, Grandpa, and successful Realtor. 

 I found that everyone in my family processed his death differently. I have never seen my Grandma ,Angela Weeks, cry until the day of his funeral.  She kept looking at a picture of him and I remember her standing in the kitchen muttering to my mom “he wasn’t supposed to leave me like this,”. About two week before his passing Angela and Jon had gone out to dinner with a couple of friends that had COVID-19 at the time. Angela and Jon as well as the couple were unaware that the couple had the virus; however, they knew that the couple wasn’t feeling well. This is when both Angela and Jon contracted the virus. Angela had just completed her last treatment of radiation from her recurrent breast cancer. Everyone in my family was so concerned for my grandma but she seemed fine so we didn’t take it seriously until the day Jon had to be taken to the hospital.

It never really seemed real until we were at the funeral. My Aunt ,Candy Mayer, kept saying it hadn’t hit her; everyone was waiting for Jon to walk through the door and say in the sweetest voice “Hey guys, how’s it going?” but that never happened. I think it fully hit Candy when she had to go back to her job as a teacher; after work she would call Angela on the phone crying her eyes out. My mom ,Leigh Copeland, had the hardest time dealing with his passing when we were flying to Ohio. She kept saying “He’s always been there every time to pick me up at the airport, and he won’t be there this time”. I don’t think it has hit my brother ,Ronan Copeland, yet. It hadn’t fully hit me until I started writing this.

The night that we flew in for the funeral a woman came by to drop off some food. This woman happened to be one of the people that had given Jon and Angela COVID-19. I noticed that my Uncle ,Andrew Weeks, felt resentment towards her and refused to talk to her or eat cookies that she had dropped off for my family. I remember my mom telling me in the car on our way to a hotel that Andrew had told her that he was the most upset that his dad will never meet his kids. This broke my heart since I grew up with an amazing grandpa, who made the best dad jokes and bonded with me over our love of food and ice cream. 

Jon owned his own business as a real estate agent in Cincinnati Ohio. He worked on his business and made sure to touch every customer he had. I remember getting flowers, food, and plants sent to Angela’s house and thinking of how many lives he touched by simply being himself.  With his business now up in arms Andrew quit his job and is trying to get his realtors licenses to take over his fathers legacy.