Married North Texas Teachers Pass Away From COVID-19 While Holding Hands, Family Says
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A gut-wrenching story out of Grand Prairie on the deadly toll COVID-19 continues to take in North Texas.
A married couple who were both educators in Grand Prairie ISD have become two of the pandemic's latest victims.
Paul Blackwell was a PE teacher and a football coach at Fannin Middle School.
His wife, Rose Blackwell, was a teacher at the Travis World Language Academy.
Their son, Christopher Blackwell, told CBS 11 the couple had been hospitalized at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.
He said they spent several days in intensive care on ventilators as their conditions continued to worsen.
Last week, the couple's family which includes five children, was told the 61-year-old father and 65-year-old mother would not survive.
A decision was made to discontinue life support while the family took part in an emotional goodbye.
"Two of my other brothers are actually in the room there at the hospital and they wheeled my stepmother in there in the room with my father and at the same time, removed them both from the ventilator. They had them holding hands and they were both gone in a couple of minutes," said Christopher. "I've never seen anything like that before and it's hard to even put into words seeing that."
Students have been offered counselors at the two schools where these teachers were loved and respected.
They were working up until they became sick, but it's unknown how they contracted the virus.
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