PHOENIX — As we approach the holidays, so many families will have empty chairs at the dinner table.
More than 6,100 Arizonans have lost their lives this year to COVID-19, including Nancy and Alfred Cortes.
“Such giving and caring and loving people. If you met them, you loved them,” Sue Hodges, their daughter, said.
Nancy and Alfred leave behind 32 family members. Sue Hodges said her parents were married for 64 years.
Nancy, a teacher. Her dad Alfred, an engineer by trade.
“The smell of sawdust totally reminds me of my dad,” Hodges said.
Health care providers are concerned about the increase in COVID-19 cases, especially as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday.
“You know, my dad loved babies, he loved the little kids,” Sue Hodges said, describing the kind of man her father was.
“He would sit for hours watching cartoons with them, which was unbelievably patient.”
An engineer by trade, Cortes retired from the U.S. Postal Service before starting a second career as a maintenance worker for Deer Valley, allowing him to continue to work and tinker with things.
“We grew up, we had broken TVs all over the house because he was always fixing them, or broken radios,” Hodges said.
In early October, Cortes allowed his daughter to take him to the hospital after he developed COVID-19 symptoms that he just couldn’t shake. Both he and his wife were admitted.
His fight with COVID-19 was a rollercoaster ride of sorts. After a few days in the hospital, he was discharged, only to be readmitted a few days later as his oxygen levels dropped.
In the weeks that followed, Cortes and his wife were allowed to visit each other, as both were staying on the same floor of the hospital.
“We thought we were fine -- they were super healthy both of the -- and we were going to be the lucky ones,” Hodges said.
On Oct. 26, Alfred lost his battle with coronavirus. Nancy would tell her children she was going to get better.
“She was like, 'You can’t lose both parents, I have to get better,'” Hodges said.
Nancy died a little more than a week later. Their presence will be missed, especially as we get to the holiday season.
“For them, family was everything, getting together was everything,” Hodges said.
Traditions, from holiday shopping to the baking of a pumpkin pie, will all be different.
“It’s not going to be easy to get through,” Hodges said.
Thousands of other families will find themselves in that same somber reality. an empty chair, as the fight against COVID-19 continues in another wave.
“One of the last texts my mom sent was, “I didn’t take this serious enough,” Hodges said.
The family is asking for prayers. If you want to assist them financially, there is a GoFundMe to help pay for the cost of two unexpected funerals.