Woodbridge School Custodian, Daughter Die From COVID Within Days
WOODBRIDGE, VA – Just two days after a longtime Potomac View Elementary School custodian died from the coronavirus, the local woman's family announced that her daughter also died from the virus.
Prince William County school division officials announced earlier this week that Dinora Mejia died Sunday after being on medical leave since Dec. 9, according to an email sent to parents this week by Potomac View Principal Latiesa Green.
Mejia became the first Prince William County school employee to die from the coronavirus, although school officials do not believe she contracted the virus while at school. School officials said that grief counselors would be available students who knew Mejia, who had worked for the school district for more than 20 years.
"This is a difficult time for our school community, but Potomac View students and staff will support each other as we deal with this loss," Green wrote in the email to parents.
After a GoFundMe effort was established for Mejia’s family, Andres Mejia —Dinora’s son — wrote that his sister, Claudia Ordonez, died on Tuesday from the coronavirus. As of Friday morning, the GoFundMe effort had raised more than $10,500 to assist the family in covering funeral costs for the two women.
“They were wonderful women whose lives were cut short by COVID,” Andres Mejia wrote.
Dinora Mejia was set to retire later this year from the school district, her son wrote, and planned to return to El Salvador to live in the house her husband of 40 years had built for the two of them. Mejia’s husband, also named Andres, died a few years ago from cancer, the couple’s son wrote. Mejia immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in the 1970s.
“She was determined to live out the rest of her days despite this loss (of her husband), working hard for herself and her family who were left behind,” Andres Mejia wrote about his mother. “Now, may she rest in peace.”
Andres Mejia described his sister as a wonderful woman with whom he shared many memories during their time growing up together. From family birthday parties to family trips and growing up with their younger siblings, Andres said the two had become closer since their father’s death. Claudia Ordonez is survived by her husband and younger siblings, her brother wrote.
“We laughed, we loved one another,” Andres Mejia wrote of his sister. “May she rest in peace.”
Andres Mejia said that funds raised through the Go Fund Me effort will go to pay for his mother and sister’s funeral arrangements. Even in losing two family members in such a short time, Andres used the fundraising page to leave a message to others at a time when the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge in its 10th month.
“My mother and sister fought hard this COVID, but I'm afraid the damage it had done was too much to overcome,” Andres Mejia wrote. “Remember to wear your masks, wash your hands, and do everything you can to not get this COVID. This loss is beyond words, may it not happen to you.”
This article originally appeared on the Woodbridge Patch
