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A family in Orem says COVID-19 first killed a great-grandmother and then a grandfather on consecutive days last week.
Manuela Nieto Palacios, 86, died Thursday, FOX 13 reported. The next day, her son-in-law, Moises Alonso Chavez, 77, died, too.
“I’m trying really hard to keep my composure," said Lupe Migliaccio, Chavez’s granddaughter. They meant a lot to me; they meant a lot to our family."
(Courtesy photo) Manuela Nieto Palacios smiles in this undated photo. Palacios died from the coronavirus on April 30, 2020, her family says.
The family has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses. The page says Chavez grew ill April 20 and had to be hospitalized; Palacios, who lived with her daughter and Chavez, had to be hospitalized April 25.
Palacios was born in Panuco, Zacatecas, Mexico, the page says. Her family wrote that she enjoyed family events, gardening, walks and cooking for anyone who would visit.
Chavez was born in Encarnacion de Diaz, Jalisco, Mexico. He married Consuelo Nieto in 1967. They had eight children. His grandchildren called him “Papa Moy.” He enjoyed fishing, hunting and playing chess and pool.
(Courtesy photo) Moises Alonso Chavez smiles in this undated photo. Palacios died from the coronavirus on May 1, 2020, his family says. He was 77.
Migliaccio told FOX 13 her family members are more afraid of the coronavirus now than they were before the deaths of her grandfather and great-grandmother.
“I hope that people take it a little more seriously," she told the station, “because I feel like if we would have, maybe they would still be here.”
Editor’s note • The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are content-sharing partners.
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