Losing a loved one to COVID-19 isn’t an easy loss to cope with for anyone, but the Covarrubias family, of San Diego County, has been dealt a difficult set with three of their loved ones dying from COVID-19 within a course of three months, with two of those deaths happening just a week apart.
Carmen Covarrubias, whose father died from COVID-19 in November, says her family is still in disbelief.
“It's crazy that we're sitting here talking about it and knowing that at this point, we've lost three loved ones to this COVID,” Covarrubias says. “And as hard as everything is, now we're planning a double funeral.”
In January, the family would be hit with another unthinkable loss. This time, it would be Juan Covarrubias and Monica Covarrubias, a father and daughter, whose deaths would tragically happen about a week apart. NBC 7 spoke to Juan’s son Jose Covarrubias who says the compounded losses shook him to the core, unable to gain a full moment to process that his father, sister, and uncle were now gone.
“I haven't even really had a chance to mourn my dad before my sister passed away,” Juan Covarrubias says. “So, we still haven't gotten over my tio, uncle, my Santiago passing away at the end of November.”
Carmen and Jose Covarrubias said Santiago and Juan were more than just brothers but bonded by friendship. Best buds tied at the hip. Santiago and Juan were born in a suburb of Guadalajara and were part of a huge family of seven who would live to have families of their own. Each with their own talents and love for life. Jose Covarrubias described his father as a man who lived to bring laughter to others and hold a room.
“My dad was a jokester and lived to make everyone laugh,” Jose Covarrubias said. He talked of his sister Monica, who is now survived by three young children, and how she was a force by herself with a keen eye for others' welfare before her own.
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“Even while in the hospital she would FaceTime with us and tell us to, you know, are you eating?” Jose Covarrubias says. “She was checking in. You just need to worry about you. You know, because she was so worried about everyone else.”
Carmen Covarrubias broke into tears remembering her father Santiago Covarrubias. She says singing is what brought him joy and he commanded the stage.
“He loved to sing, that was his passion,” Carmen Covarrubias says. “Everyone always craved his music.”
The Covarrubias family says the loss they’ve suffered is beyond immense and has placed them in a difficult place financially. They told NBC 7 if they had only lost one family member, the financial bind wouldn’t have been so great.
“One person we could have muddled through with one person, we could have made it happen,” Jose Covarrubias says. “We could have banded together as a family. But with two, and so many unknown variables that are coming at us like everyday, we didn’t want to ask for help we thought we could handle it, but it became too much.”
The Covarrubias family says they’ve started a GoFundMe to raise money to help with funeral costs and hospital bills. The money raised will be also be used to help out the paternal grandparents are now caring for Monica’s children.
You can access the GoFundMe here.
