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Woman, 2 grown children die of COVID-19 weeks apart

By Kara Peters

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    JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — A woman and her two grown children died from COVID-19 weeks apart.

“I want y’all to look into my eyes; that stuff is real. People are dying,” J.C. Johnson said.

Johnson is preparing for the unimaginable: burying his sister, niece and nephew – all dead from COVID-19. Johnson’s sister, Patricia, who was in her 60s, and her children, who were in their 40s, were Mississippi natives who had been living in Florida.

Johnson’s nephew, Heath, had been in the hospital with the virus fighting for his life, but he still took part in family Zoom calls.

His niece had passed away from COVID-19 suddenly after going to the emergency room at a hospital in Florida. He then received another heart-dropping call.

“While my niece had me on the phone telling me about her brother, within five minutes, the hospital was calling telling me, telling her about my sister,” Johnson said.

Patricia and her son Heath had died minutes apart from the virus.

Johnson said the family was exposed to someone who had not communicated they had COVID-19. While Johnson said he feels a huge void, it’s God’s grace that gets him through the day.

“People are asking me, ‘How are you doing? How are you making it?’ Well, one things for sure, it is not of my strength,” Johnson said.

As the family prepares to lay their loved ones to rest in Jackson, Johnson hopes the community takes the virus and its impact seriously. He said he will always keep the memories and bond he had with his sister and how she loved her children.

“She always took her children with her and she always bent over backward to make sure they had what they needed,” Johnson said.

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