Derek Ellington had dreamed of retiring in Hawaii, where he took his wife Damaris and their two sons, Eugene and Christian, on annual vacations when the boys were children.
“As a kid, we went to every island,” Eugene said. “When we would discuss our summer vacation, my dad would give us the map and say, ‘Which island do you want to go to this year?’”
The San Jose High grad had spent four years in the Navy working on the USS Ranger before starting what would become a 36-year career with United Airlines. He worked at Oakland International Airport and most recently at SFO, started his tenure as a mechanic and ascended to a variety of leadership roles.
Even as the novel coronavirus was spreading throughout the United States, Ellington’s desire to travel remained strong. In mid-March, the longtime line supervisor for United Airlines at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) flew with a friend to Nebraska for a brief trip.
When he returned, Ellington, 59, felt ill, had trouble breathing and couldn’t report to work. A week later, his condition had not improved and he was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. On March 25, the San Jose native and Navy veteran, died from COVID-19, succumbing to the deadly pandemic that as of Monday had killed more than 3,000 people in the U.S — including more than 50 in the Bay Area.
Due to the statewide shelter-in-place order and hospital restrictions for patient visitors, Ellington’s family was not allowed to see him. A 5 a.m. phone call from the hospital is how Eugene learned of his father’s death.
“It’s been really hard, it’s so sudden and so unreal that it doesn’t feel like it’s actually happened,” Eugene said. “Me, my mother and my brother have stuck together.”
Derek Ellington, a San Jose native and Navy veteran, was 59 years old when he died from COVID-19.
His family says he had no underlying health conditions and was not at any higher risk for severe illness if he contracted the coronavirus. The disease still took his life.
“His best friend said, ‘My sons weren’t taking it seriously and now they’re in the back crying because they know how serious this is,’” Damaris said. “This is a deadly and terrible virus.”
Ellington’s family doesn’t know when contracted COVID-19, but the shock of his sudden death has brought both emotional pain and financial burdens. Hearing from Derek’s relatives and coworkers with United Airlines has brought comfort to them, and also given them perspective on the impact he made on those he met.
After Derek’s death, his family wanted to give those he was close to a chance to say a “proper goodbye” with a large funeral, but didn’t have the means to do so. Moreover, social distancing guidelines would prevent them from having more than 10 people at a service.
“My husband was a kind and good man. He helped everybody that needed help,” Damaris said. “He was very loving and giving to his friends and his family.”
A decision was made: If Derek’s friends from the Navy and his coworkers from his 36-year career with United Airlines couldn’t attend his funeral, the Ellington’s would wait to hold a memorial.
That commitment has given the family additional time to prepare, and figure out how to cover the cost. “My mom was telling me, we’re not going to have the money to give your father a proper burial,” Eugene said. “We’re not rich people, I work 40 hours a week, my brother does the same, we barely have enough to get by so that’s what inspired me to start the GoFundMe account.”
The vast majority of crowdfunding projects on GoFundMe’s platform fail to reach their targets. Within four days of Eugene’s initial post, more than 130 individual donors combined to contribute over $10,000, which exceeded the original $8,000 goal.
A handful of donors to the GoFundMe page left comments with memories of Ellington. One who said he had worked midnight shifts at the airport with Derek described his former colleague as a “very nice guy, soft spoken.” Another commented that he was “a respectful man, quiet of manner” who “never a bad word towards anyone.” In a remark that resonated with Ellington’s family, another coworker wrote that Derek’s smile “could light up a room.”
At a time of great hardship, the Ellington family is coping, with the help of those who will also feel the pain of their loss.
“To see so much of the community reaching out and supporting us really does show that my father was loved by so many people,” Eugene said.
With the donations provided through Eugene’s GoFundMe, the Ellingtons will hold a service that will “honor the amazing man he was — though they don’t know exactly when or where the service will happen, but at a time of great hardship, they now have the support to make sure it does.
“I’ll be forever grateful for all of his friends and his family members,” Damaris said. “The outpouring of love we’ve gotten from them, words can’t thank them enough.”