Figure skating champion, family mourns Sarnia grandmother who died due to COVID-19 outbreak at seniors' home
The Landmark Village seniors' home In Sarnia is currently experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak, with at least six confirmed cases as of Tuesday, and four people have died.
One of those who died is Charlotte Jones, who was 88 years old.
Jones' grandson is national figure skating champion Michael Marinaro who lives in Oakville.
"It's been extremely tough, especially being on my own here, not with the relatives, with my family members, so we can't kind of all grieve together makes a very unique experience — not a good one that we were looking forward to at all," he said.
"It's been pretty tough over the last few days. I never expected it to get so close to home or to be prepared for it... it gets a whole lot realer when it directly affects your family."
Michael's mom Beverley Marinaro is Charlotte Jones' daughter. She said the virus took over pretty quickly.
"She just was fine up until Thursday and then Thursday just had a froggy throat and sounded kind of funny and then she was okay," she said.
Beverly said family members were able to video chat with Jones before she became terribly congested, which they thought was due to her seasonal allergies.
"I didn't think too much of it, but then they sent the health unit in to do the test ... and by the next morning she didn't even answer my first call because she was just confused and really tired," said Beverly. "They called the ambulance and she went in the hospital and died on the Tuesday."
Jones will be buried Friday in Sarnia, but the funeral will hardly be a normal affair. Family members will say goodbye to Jones from their cars during a small graveside service.
"I can't even get out of the car to give my mother a hug," said Michael. "I don't know what to expect."
The casket will be closed, and since the senior's home is locked down, they can't get to her clothes to pick out something to bury her in, so Charlotte Jones will be buried in a shroud.
Michael hopes everyone will do their part by staying isolated and being safe.
"I want my experiences here to happen to the least amount of people as possible."
