Coronavirus Takes 3 Lives From Same CT Family In 5 Days

BRANFORD, CT — "It was five days of hell for us."

On May 3, the Aceto family matriarch died. On May 6, her sister, the family’s beloved aunt, also died. And on May 7, the family's patriarch was gone, too.

All had tested positive for the coronavirus.

One day, Nicholas Aceto and Frances, his wife of six-plus decades, were enjoying their lives with her sister Grace Bissonette next door and living fairly independently in an assisted living facility in Branford. They were playing cards, watching game shows and looking forward to near-daily visits from sons and daughters, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Five days later, they were all gone.

"No words. I woke up five days ago and had a loving mother, father and godmother and aunt," Deborah Aceto Larsen wrote on Facebook. "Tonight they are all in heaven and our entire family is heartbroken."

Nicholas, 85, Frances, 83, and her sister Grace, 94, all ended up on the COVID-19 floor at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Saint Raphael campus.

Before Frances died, nursing staff brought Nicholas in to be with her — the last time they touched and the first time in their 64 years together they’d been apart. They would have celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in September. A big party was being planned.

"It was Mom’s last day," Larsen said. "They wheeled him into her room. I like to think she felt him there."

There was a circle around her mother’s hospital bed. Nurses took photos for the family. The one that is at once most poignant and most crushing is the image of Nicholas touching his wife’s hand.

"I felt so sorry for the nurses," Larsen said. "It’s a wonderful gift they’ve given us."

But she said knowing her father was asking, "Where’s my kids?" was heartbreaking. Frances died shortly afterward.

"Neither one would have been happy without the other," Larsen said.

When Grace's health was failing, a social worker told Larsen that a call to her aunt might not be the best idea, as she’d likely ask about Frances, and caregivers were concerned that the stress of knowing her sister, just down the hall, had died would be too much.

"She wasn’t strong enough to hear that her sister died, they said," Larsen said. "They knew she’d ask about my mother."

So she did not speak with her beloved Aunt Grace. It is just part of the pain she now endures.

Grace died three days later.

Then, Nicholas, on the fifth day, lost his fight, too.

None died alone but rather were in the care and company of COVID-19 nurses at Yale New Haven Hospital. But the three died without their families able to be present. And for this large, extended and very close-knit family, the pain has been hard to bear. Many have taken to Facebook since May 4, when first Frances left this world and then Grace and then Nicholas. Most of the family lives close by; though they could not physically be in the hospital, with burials Thursday and a few permitted in attendance with some peering from car windows, they were close.

But Larsen, who lives in Massachusetts, could not get any closer physically to her parents and godmother/aunt than 100 miles. Larsen cares for her husband, Bruce, who had a recent heart surgery and is at extreme risk — she keeps him in a near "bubble" to protect him. But she said that in her heart, she was there with her parents and aunt.

"I’m angry at this virus attacking the most frail," Larsen told Patch. "I’m angry at young people who think this is nothing; it’s not about you. I’m angry that we could not be together for my parents, couldn’t be with them, couldn’t hug my siblings."

And when — the day after her father died, with her mother and aunt also gone — a friend posted on social media that the coronavirus was a hoax.

"I was angry," Larsen said. "I just blasted them: 'When you post this stuff, it’s very hurtful to people who have lost loved ones. We lost three.'"

One by one, they left this earth

Grace was the first to go to the hospital. She had fallen twice and eventually tested positive for the coronavirus.

Then, Nicholas was hospitalized, for a urinary tract infection that was not life-threatening. He was being treated for the infection, but he was not getting better.

At home, Frances waited for news. On the night before she was hospitalized, she was watching game shows on television and eating pastina. But overnight, she had severe trouble breathing; and by morning, she had a 104-degree temperature and was hospitalized. She also had the new coronavirus.

"Her poor little arthritic body was just too weak to fight," Larsen said. "Dad, he was a fighter and fought for four days after she was gone. But this evil virus was too much for her fragile body."

That same day, Nicholas, who was already in the hospital, tested positive and was moved to the COVID-19 floor.

Within five days, all were dead. And a little more than a week later, there would be just eight family at the burial. Sons wearing masks, a cousin looking on from a distance. Larsen said the photos of the burial were hard to see. And harder still to not be there.

A great sadness, she said, was that her mother had planned her own funeral Mass.

"She was very religious," Larsen said, her voice quaking. "She had her Mass all planned out; she picked the songs, the hymns. The virus took that away from her, from us."

Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for free Patch alerts and daily newsletters from all across Connecticut.

The people they were

The family had big Sunday dinners, usually with ziti. Frances repaired the grandkids' stuffed animals and gave standing ovations for their little plays. She loved puzzles that she often did with the kids. And at Christmas, she had them all sing "Happy Birthday, Jesus." She was a poet, storyteller and writer who one day hoped her story would be told, Deborah said. Frances was a bookkeeper for the former New England Wire and Adley Express Trucking Co.

Nicholas was the family protector. He loved fast cars and watching NASCAR on TV. He fed strays in the neighborhood, was a head mechanic for the former Adley's Express, Smith's Transportation and Island Transportation, and was the owner of the former Consiglio's Florist located in East Haven. Nicholas loved watching movies especially ones that starred Jesse Stone and John Wayne.

Larsen said that she tried to make sure to call her parents every night.

"'Hi, my little Debbie,'" she’d say. 'Hi, my little mommy,' I ’d say. 'I love you, mommy. I love you more,' she’d say. Every night at 9. That's what hurts me the most, I can’t call here anymore." Larsen wept.

Supportive and loving, their children and their grandchildren and nieces, nephew and siblings were their lives.

Granddaughter Jackie tells their story.

And a testament to their love for family and their unwavering support and loyalty is told by Larsen.

Her daughter Jackie and her partner Katelyn were visiting her parents.

"It’s hard to explain same-sex relationships to old Italians,” Larsen said about helping her parents to understand their granddaughter and her partner’s relationship. “My father, who was not emotional at all, whispered to Katelyn before they left (the visit): 'I have five granddaughters now.' That is who they were. Love and family first no matter what."

Jackie and Katelyn were married in 2017. Frances and Nicholas were there and danced at the wedding.

No blame, just love and gratitude

"I can’t blame anyone for how they all got it," Larsen said. "It’s no one’s fault. But I am angry at the virus, and I hope people understand. I’m not political, but let’s all try to protect each other."

You can read more about Nicholas Aceto, Frances Aceto and Grace Bissonette here.

"There was never a doubt in my life … never a day in my life that I doubted that I was deeply loved," Larsen said. "My parents and my Aunt Grace were the best people I’ve ever known, and we’re all better for having them in our lives."

This article originally appeared on the Branford Patch