Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Santos G. Benavides Sr. was well know to his neighbors in rural Oklahoma Avenue on the southeastern edge of Brownsville.
At a spry 79, he could be seen tirelessly working on his backhoe doing jobs as an independent contractor. He was honest as the day is long and worked just as hard.
Last Sunday, just four days before his 80th birthday, the patriarch of the Benavides family died as a result of COVID-19 complications that aggravated a touch of pneumonia and died. He was buried at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Rose Lawn Memorial Cemetery. He would have been 80 this Monday, May 4.
He was in the last week of a five-week stay at Veranda Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Harlingen after a pesky infection in his toe forced doctors to amputate it.
His family, aware that the rehab home had been identified as a virus hotspot, kept in touch constantly with him by telephone since health authorities prevented personal visits to prevent the spread of the virus. They said he was in fine spirits and that he was looking forward to celebrate his 80th birthday among his extended family.
His family says he assiduously washed his hands, used hand sanitizer, and wore a face mask and assured them he would be ok and not to worry.
Just days before he was scheduled to leave, attendants at the Veranda Rehab facility had tested him for the virus and found him negative. Then just two days later he came down with pneumonia that was aggravated by a COVID-19 infection and he died within a short span of four days.
Benavides, who had been a loving family man and loved to be surrounded by his extended family that included sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grand children, died alone, unable to be seen by his loved ones.
Funeral ceremonies were out of the question because of social distancing and the prohibition of large gatherings. And when he was buried yesterday, the family was prevented to be graveside and had to watch from a distance.
Nuestros pesames a la familia Benavides y que en paz descanse.
Santos G. Benavides Sr. was well know to his neighbors in rural Oklahoma Avenue on the southeastern edge of Brownsville.
At a spry 79, he could be seen tirelessly working on his backhoe doing jobs as an independent contractor. He was honest as the day is long and worked just as hard.
Last Sunday, just four days before his 80th birthday, the patriarch of the Benavides family died as a result of COVID-19 complications that aggravated a touch of pneumonia and died. He was buried at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Rose Lawn Memorial Cemetery. He would have been 80 this Monday, May 4.
He was in the last week of a five-week stay at Veranda Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Harlingen after a pesky infection in his toe forced doctors to amputate it.
His family, aware that the rehab home had been identified as a virus hotspot, kept in touch constantly with him by telephone since health authorities prevented personal visits to prevent the spread of the virus. They said he was in fine spirits and that he was looking forward to celebrate his 80th birthday among his extended family.
His family says he assiduously washed his hands, used hand sanitizer, and wore a face mask and assured them he would be ok and not to worry.
Just days before he was scheduled to leave, attendants at the Veranda Rehab facility had tested him for the virus and found him negative. Then just two days later he came down with pneumonia that was aggravated by a COVID-19 infection and he died within a short span of four days.
Benavides, who had been a loving family man and loved to be surrounded by his extended family that included sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grand children, died alone, unable to be seen by his loved ones.
Funeral ceremonies were out of the question because of social distancing and the prohibition of large gatherings. And when he was buried yesterday, the family was prevented to be graveside and had to watch from a distance.
Nuestros pesames a la familia Benavides y que en paz descanse.