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INDIANAPOLIS — Mindy Settles is mourning the loss of both her mother-in-law and her father. Settles’ mother-in-law passed away on May 21, 2020 and her father passed away on November 27, 2020.
“She was just the most wonderful mother in law you could have,” said Mindy Settles of her mother-in-law, Dianna. Settles says Dianna always put family first, “She loved her 5 granddaughters like there was nothing else on this earth.”
Dianna Settles had Alzheimer’s and was living in a nursing home when she caught COVID-19 last spring.
“My husband and my sister-in-law both were able to go in in full PPE gear and say goodbye to her. The rest of us stood outside the window and they had a phone on speaker phone to tell her we loved her and that it was time to go be with her husband. That’s where she wanted to be,” said Settles.
That was in May of 2020. 7 months later, the family experienced another loss. Settles’ father contracted the virus. “He could barely walk so that Tuesday I took him to the doctor, they tested him he came back positive for COVID-19 and that Thursday he went into the hospital and never came out,” said Settles.
She says her father, David Kinsey spent time as a volunteer firefighter and he left an impact on so many lives. “He just had the biggest smile he would light up a room when he would just smile,” said Settles.
But Kinsey’s deepest love was his wife Catherine. The two were married for 49 years, February 2021 would’ve made it 50. “When he was in the hospital he told her he would marry her another 49 years. Truly is the love of his life,” said Settles.
She says both her father and mother-in-law were very involved in their children’s and grandchildren’s lives. “They attended every event or sports game they could,” said Settles, “My mother in law used to say that if my husband and I decided to move from Indianapolis we’d all have to move together because no one was allowed to not live in the same state as each other.”
Settles says she missed both her father and mother-in-law dearly. And that the loss of two people to this virus is a tragic reminder to cherish time with those you love.
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