ST. LOUIS — A week ago, the Pork family was on vacation. Now they're mourning the loss of 77-year-old Christine Pork, who died from COVID-19.
"Somehow some of the family members caught COVID and brought it back to my mother, and she'd been quarantining for two years," Pork's daughter, Stephanie, said.
Stephanie Pork said about 15-20 family members went to an Indiana amusement park last weekend. Seven came home and tested positive for COVID-19.
"It wasn't no mask requirement, and nobody really wore their mask. So when they came back, they brought the COVID back with them," Pork said.
They gathered together Saturday night in north St. Louis, fully-masked, to release balloons in Christine Pork's honor.
Belinda Warren holds on to the memories of her older sister.
"She was such an amazing mother and grandmother and great-grandmother and beautiful sister. She would just make so many sacrifices for her family," Warren said.
"She was a beautiful woman. She was a woman that took care of other people," Pork said.
As the family released balloons for their loved one, they hope other people will do their part so this won't happen to them.
"You need to protect yourself, because you don't know who's got it around you (or) who's carrying it. Then you carry it back to your family member," Pork said.
"This Delta variant is serious. If you're not vaccinated, if you're not masking up, you need to find yourself doing (that). My family has been totally totally affected by this," Warren said.