Volusia County Schools has announced the death of an employee who succumbed to complications from the coronavirus and pneumonia.
Shyla Pennington worked as a teacher’s assistant at Sugar Mill Elementary School in Port Orange.
In a statement released Saturday, district officials said, “She was a dedicated employee who loved children and also was a devoted mother, daughter, sister, and friend to many.”
Sadly, we learned that Shyla’s brother, Gerald Jones, a Volusia County paramedic, has also died due to COVID-19.
School officials said they’ve notified Sugar Mill teachers and staff of Pennington’s death and plan to have a crisis team at the school on Monday to provide grief counseling.
Paramedic Gerald Jones and Teaching Assistant Shyla Pennington, brother and sister, each lost their lives due to COVID-19. Two public servants in our community gone, and so much grief for a family to bear. Our community grieves with them pic.twitter.com/BNVwp1QBI9
— Mike Chitwood (@SheriffChitwood) September 21, 2020
Jones leaves behind a wife and child, and Pennington was a single mother who leaves behind a son.
A Facebook.com fundraising page has been set up to help the family with expenses.
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