EVERMAN, Texas — A growing memorial outside the Everman Police Department is in honor of a family, who lost a mother and son to COVID-19.
Officer Alex Arango and his mother, Carmen Arango, were in the ICU last week battling COVID-19.
Officer Alex Arango died Thursday. He was 60.
Carmen Arango died Sunday. She was 81, the family said.
“It's heart-wrenching to lose [not only] one, but two so close and within days. It is just unbearable to deal with,” Danet Arango-Henry said. “We really just don't want any other family to go through with what we're going through.”
Danet Arango-Henry is one of Officer Arango’s six siblings. She is Carmen Arango’s youngest child.
Everman Emergency Services posted on Facebook that Officer Arango contracted COVID-19 while on duty. Arango-Henry said they’re still waiting for more details.
Arango-Henry said her mother, Carmen, lived with the officer, who leaves behind a wife, three kids, a dozen grandkids, and one great-grandchild.
“My mother constantly helped those in the community. She could speak Spanish, so she helped translate for a lot of people that could not speak English or vice versa. And so, she was constantly just helping the community,” Arango-Henry said. “And of course, my brother, being a police officer, he did the same.”
Hundreds of comments have been posted to the Everman Emergency Services Facebook page in honor of the officer, a 27-year veteran of the department.
“If my brother's story can be a stepping stone to help find that cure faster, then we're all for it to give people a fighting chance to survive this virus,” Arango-Henry said.
Everman Chief of Police Craig Spencer told WFAA a memorial service is in the works, but the department is still trying to find an appropriate venue, where people can come and pay their respects while also maintaining social distancing.
If you’d like to donate to the Arango family, their GoFundMe page can be found here.
