Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 10-15-21

Feature
Mom, Daughter Die Of COVID 10 Days Apart
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The unexpected death of a family member is devastating. However, when one family suf- fers two deaths within 10 days, it leaves a void no one can fill.
Ms. Kathy Lowe Derr
was a 65-year-old Tampa na- tive. The mother of two daugh- ters and a son, she was still employed as a Direct Support Staff member of Florida Men- tor.
Her sister, Mrs. Gail Har- rison said, “My sister was healthy. She was not taking any type of medication. She was in perfect health.”
Mrs. Harrison said her sister had 9 dental extractions and she believes that opened the door for her body to be invaded by the COVID-19 virus.
“She wore a mask, but we believe that is what happened because she had to get tested
MS. KATHY LOWE DERR May 3, 1956 --- Sept. 17, 2021
every week.”
Ms. Lowe Derr was a
Tampa native and a graduate of Hillsborough High School, Class of 1974. She was the daughter of Mrs. Cleo Lowe and the late Freddie Lowe.
She loved spending time with her family, especially her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Her husband, Ronald
MS. TEMEEKA THOMPSON Feb. 24, 1973 ---
Sept. 27, 2021
Derr said he had surprised his wife by granting her wishes ear- lier in the year.
“She worked so hard and she had never been on an airplane. She also had a wish to ride horses. I got with my daughter who lives in Texas and Kathy flew to Texas, rode horses, and had a great time. That was on my heart to do for her. Who would have known that she
would be gone in five months?” Ms. Lowe Derr became ill and was admitted to Tampa General Hospital on August 18th. She passed away on September 17th. She was laid to rest on Oc-
tober 2nd.
Mrs. Harrison said her
sister nor her niece had not been vaccinated. “This has been very devastating for our family. We must realize the importance of being vaccinated. A vaccina- tion is not a cure, but it can help protect you.”
She urges people to wear masks, keep their hands clean, get the vaccination if you can. She also said those who suspect they have been exposed to con- tact their doctor.
“When my sister was in the hospital, we couldn’t visit and had to rely on whatever infor- mation the hospital gave us. You can’t see your loved one. You have to rely on the video chat.”
As the family was dealing
with Kathy’s illness and hospi- talization, Kathy’s first born child, Ms. Temeeka Thomp- son, 48, contracted the deadly disease. She was admitted to AdventHealth Hospital (for- merly University Community) on September 6th.
Ms. Thompson became another victim of the deadly variant when she passed away on September 27th, 10 days after her mother’s death.
Ms. Thompson was the mother of one daughter and three grandchildren. She will be laid to rest on Saturday.
Neither of the women knew the other had contracted the deadly disease.
Ms. Harrison said she hopes that by sharing her story, others will realize how danger- ous the disease is and get vacci- nated. She hopes members of the community will do every- thing they can to prevent it from spreading.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY PAGE 9-A