Firefighter Loses Wife, Brother And 2 Other Parents To COVID-19

A New Jersey man is in shock at the loss of his wife, brother and two other relatives – who all died from COVID-19 while living with him, according to a report.

Ed Kemble Jr., 61, of Burlington County wondered how his loved ones contracted the dreaded disease and is hoping his tragic story will prompt others to follow all safety guidelines during the pandemic, NJ.com reports.

“It could have come from several different directions. It’s invisible. You can’t see it, so you can’t know where it came from, ”Kemble Jr., a volunteer firefighter and truck driver, told the media.

“People should be informed that (the virus) is out there. People (should) keep their distance from each other and obey the rules everyone says, ”Kemble added.

Initially, Kemble’s diabetic wife Barbara was rushed to hospital in November as she suffered from dehydration from kidney problems, according to the report.

She was tested for the coronavirus and diagnosed with the disease.

Over the next two months, Kemble visited his wife who had been ill for nearly 40 years – dropping off Jersey Mike’s subs and iced tea, but without entering her room.

On January 16, Barbara died of a stroke.

“All of our lives are reflected around the fire company,” the grieving widower said of his wife, who was president of the Washington Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary in Delanco.

“A lot of times we hung out at the city park, playing and everything,” he told NJ.com. “(The coronavirus) has contributed to his (health) problems. His cause of death was a stroke.

In December, Kemble’s stepmother Ruth Sharp Allen was hospitalized after developing pneumonia and a cough. She too tested positive for COVID-19 and died on December 2 at the age of 89.

Kemble’s younger brother, John Daniel Kemble, who lost both legs to diabetes, was then taken to hospital because he needed emergency dialysis, NJ.com reported.

The brother, a former bus driver who held multiple roles with Riverside’s emergency team as an EMT, tested positive for the virus and died of a heart attack on December 7.

And less than a week later, Ruth Allen’s sister Eileen Wolverton – who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in the fall – died at Virtua Willingboro Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 .

Wolverton, a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Delanco / Washington Fire Company, had helped care for Kemble’s bedridden brother, NJ.com reported.

Kemble said he was receiving his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday with the rest of the fire company – but wishes the vaccines had been widely available sooner so his family could be protected.

“They should have been (available),” he says. “There would have been a lot of people alive if that was the case.