Jose Bonilla, 52: He filled his mother and sister’s homes with flowers

This story is part of an ongoing Miami Herald series chronicling the lives of South Florida COVID-19 victims.

Jose Bonilla used to buy flowers from a street vendor because he didn’t want the vendor to have to spend too much time in the sun. He’d deliver them to his mother and also his sister, who ran out of space and asked him to slow down.

Bonilla died on July 10 due to complications with COVID-19. He was 52 years old.

“With my mom he was such a great son,” said his younger sister, Jessica Bonilla. Her voice cracked over the phone. “He was always buying her stuff and taking her to places.”

Jose was born in Nicaragua on Nov. 28, 1967, the second of four siblings. When he was about 16 years old, his mother feared that he would be drafted into the Nicaraguan military like his older brother. So she decided to seek a better life in the United States.

Once in Miami, Bonilla worked fixing the upholstery in furniture, which he had learned to do in Nicaragua, according to Jessica.

He opened his own shop, the Tapiceria General Jose Bonilla, in the early ’90s when he was still in his early 20s. Twenty years later, he opened a bigger place in Doral.

He worked many days and hours a week, but he would still find the energy to help others and bring joy to his family.

He talked every day with his 7-year-old daughter, Brengi Bonilla, and helped her mother take care of her.

He also visited Jessica’s children often, honking the car horn outside of their house to hand them pizza or other snacks.

“He was so giving,” said Jessica. “Even now with COVID-19, he was having a hard time and he wanted to help. I don’t even know how he kept that business alive.”

According to Jessica, he continued to help friends and people from church despite pandemic-inspired hard times.

He owned the business for about 30 years. Now, his family plans to close it. He was the only one who worked with upholstery.

The family has been particularly hard-hit by COVID-19. His mother and two brothers also contracted the virus, although they are recovering, said Jessica.

Bonilla died at his home on July 10. His brothers and mother weren’t allowed to attend the viewing or go to the cemetery because they were sick.

Jessica organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her brother’s memorial. With donations from friends and his sibling’s coworkers, the family reached its goal in just over a week.

Bonilla will be sorely missed by his mother and siblings, friends, family and daughter. Jessica, in particular, wishes she could receive flowers from her brother one more time.

“Any vendor out there he would see selling water or lemon, he would buy a ton,” said Jessica. “That’s just the type of person he was; always wanting to help people.”

Alejandra Marquez Janse, a Florida International University journalism student, wrote this story for the Miami Herald.