4 of his family members died after receiving COVID. Now, the NJ man lives alone.

Ed Kemble jr. Not sure how the coronavirus first came into his household.

He lost four family members after contracting COVID-19 late last year: his wife, younger brother, mother-in-law and mother-in-law’s sister, all of whom had serious underlying conditions.

Kemble Jr. his wife could have picked it up at her retail job, helpers who looked after his brother could have carried it inside, or he could have contracted the virus at his job. Ultimately, it’s a mystery, the Burlington County man said.

‘It could have come from many different directions. It is invisible. You can not see it, so you can not know where it came from, “said Kemble Jr., a volunteer firefighter and truck driver.

The 61-year-old now lives alone in the Riverside home they all once shared and tells the story of how the coronavirus affected his family. He hopes it encourages others to take the virus seriously and follow social guidelines.

More than 19,900 New Jersey residents have died after contracting COVID-19 since last year, and entire families have been affected by the disease and experienced the rare grief of several funerals.

‘People need to be made aware (the virus is there). “People (must) keep their distance from each other and obey the rules that everyone says,” he said.

At one point, Kemble Jr. said all of his family members were admitted to the COVID-19 unit at Virtua Willingboro Hospital while he called them on Facetime.

“All I can say is thank the Lord for iPhones,” he said.

It all started in November when Kemble Jr. said his wife, Barbara, was taken to the hospital because she was dehydrated due to kidney problems and had chest pain. She was tested for the coronavirus, and the results came back positive, he said. Barbara, who had diabetes, was eventually put in a breathing tube.

In the next two months, she bounced between South Jersey hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, Kemble Jr. said. said and died on January 16 of a stroke. In the run-up to her death, Kemble Jr. said he would drop off Jersey Mikes sandwiches and iced tea for her in the hospital – one of her favorite meals – but was not allowed to go to her room.

The two had been married for nearly 40 years and met when teens grew up in Riverside. Barbara was president of the Washington Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary in Delanco and a member of the Riverside Emergency Squad and New Jersey Fire Ladies Auxiliary, among other organizations. She previously worked for NJM Insurance and AAA Insurance, and more recently as a cashier at Walmart in Cinnaminson, Kemble Jr.

“All our lives have been reflected around the fire company,” he said. “We visited and played at the park in the city many times.”

‘(The coronavirus) contributed to her (health) problems. “Her cause of death was a stroke,” he said.

During Barbara’s two months in the hospital, Kemble Jr. other family members also became ill.

His mother-in-law, Ruth Sharp Allen, was taken to hospital in early December after suffering from pneumonia and cough, and tested positive for coronavirus. She is only 89 years old on December 2.

Five days later, Kemble Jr. said his younger brother John Daniel Kemble, who was bedridden after losing both his legs to diabetes and cared for by home health supporters, was taken to hospital by an emergency group because he needed emergencies. dialysis.

He tested positive for COVID-19 in the hospital, Kemble Jr. said. The virus made recovery more difficult and he died of a heart attack on December 7.

Like his wife, Kemble Jr. said his brother wanted to help others. He held various positions with the Riverside Emergency Squad as an EMT and was a life member of the Delran Emergency Squad. He drove for United Refrigeration in Pennsauken and was a Riverside Bus driver.

“John, he’s answered more than 2,000 ambulance calls (over the years) with Delran and Riverside,” he said.

Less than a week after John died, Ruth Allen’s sister Eileen Wolverton, affectionately known as Aunt Eileen, died at Willingboro Hospital, Kemble Jr. She was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in the fall, he said. She was also positive for COVID-19 and had a bad cough.

She was a member of the Delanco / Washington Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary team, Kemble Jr. said and she helped Kemble Jr. to take care of John’s bedridden brother.

Kemble Jr., a Riverside volunteer firefighter, said he was getting his second dose of coronavirus vaccine Wednesday in Burlington County along with the rest of the company.

But he wishes the vaccines would be available sooner so his family could get protection. His family members died because doses were first distributed in New Jersey.

“They should have been (available),” Kemble Jr. said. “There would have been a hell of a lot of people living if it were.”

A GoFundMe created for the family raised more than $ 2,200 for Ed Kemble Jr. to pay help with medical bills, housing costs and funeral expenses. Another GoFundMe campaign launched by Kemble Jr. ‘s niece started, raised more than $ 5,000.

Kemble Jr. said he was planning a memorial service at Delray Methodist Church, a funeral at Lakeview Memorial Park in Cinnaminson and a lunch at Delanco Fire Station. A date has not yet been set, but he hopes for May.

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Avalon Zoppo can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo.