KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A mom, a grandmother, a friend and a caregiver. That's what Vanda Marie Earles was before she died at 64, after testing positive for COVID-19. She battled the coronavirus for around 2 weeks.
"She worked in the community a lot. She drove the van for the church, as well. She would pick up church members and bring them to and from church," said Colby Earles, her son.
Vanda Earles was so dedicated to her life's calling that she went the extra mile so she could help more, said people who knew her.
"She went to school and finished, to go back to be an occupational therapy assistant," he said. "She said the patients need help and she enjoyed doing what she did and she liked serving in that way. Ultimately her wanting to serve people in the way she learned to do it best was what put her in a compromised position."
She worked at The Heritage Center in Morristown for 10 years, officials said. The facility has reported more than 100 cases with both employees and patients affected. They also said that 17 people died.
Earles' family finds the sudden loss difficult to process.
"It's still hard. It's my mother, so it's like, it's just kind of hard," her son said.