Remembering the lives lost to COVID-19: Dennis Brandao, 77, of Osterville, Mass.
Dennis Brandao, 77, of Osterville, Mass., died on Jan. 26, 2021, after becoming ill with COVID-19. He’s among the more than 556,000 Americans who have succumbed to the disease since the first known fatality in the U.S. in early 2020. Brandao’s daughter, Denise Harris, told Yahoo News that her father was a loving husband, father and grandfather. “He had a heart of gold, and a smile that lit up worlds,” Harris said.
Video transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
DENISE HARRIS: Hi, my name is Denise Harris. And I lost my father on January 26 of 2021 to COVID.
He was loved by everyone. He never met a stranger. Anyone he came in contact with became a friend. He had a heart of gold. He had a smile that lit up the world. He was so giving. He'd give you the shirt off his back. He was just-- he was amazing. He really was.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
My father was born in Worcester. As a young child, he moved to the Cape, and this is where he was raised. He went into the military for four years. When he got out, he came home, met my mother. They were married for 51 years.
He was a hard worker, always worked three jobs, even if he didn't need to. He went from one to the next. He owned his own business. He was a businessman. He owned a tuxedo store, so he loved to dress. You would never see him in anything other than, you know, a tuxedo or something sharp. He was known as a sharp dresser.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
After he retired from his business, he started working at a domestic violence shelter as the security supervisor. He worked there for about 28 years. So he'd work midnight to 8:00, and then he'd get off of work, and then he would go drive for Uber and Lyft.
And I used to tease him, I said, you're not a spring chicken, you know? When do you ever sleep? But he just-- he just kept on going. He was always busy doing something. He could never sit down.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
My father and I had a special type of bond. There was nobody closer to me. We just had a special type of relationship. He knew when I was having a bad day. He could just-- the smile on his face, he would just fix it. I was always a daddy's girl, very much so. And even to this day, you know, I will always be.
My father and my sons had a close relationship as well. He was the best grandfather. My older son was a big basketball player. He never missed a game. My younger son was big into karate. He never missed a tournament. And he was so proud. He was just the proudest grandfather.
In my father's case, it was very sudden. He got COVID, and he was 11 days with no symptoms at all. On that 12th day, I was at work. And I called him to check up, like I did every day, and he couldn't finish a sentence.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I feel like because of COVID, he was robbed of a lot. Just like the families as well. But, you know, robbed of being with his family when he died. Robbed of having a proper funeral. And we were lucky that we could have a funeral, because I know some families couldn't at all. But we were only allowed 20 people in the funeral home. And I really believe that if it was a regular death, he probably would have needed a police detail because he was so well-liked.
I just hope people realize that COVID is still around. I know with the vaccines coming out, people think that this is all done. And honestly, I don't think people realize how big of a deal it is until it hits close to home and it happens to them.
