South Florida victims of the COVID surge: Teachers, retirees, pastors, priests and more

A longtime science teacher at South Dade High with a passion for fishing and the outdoors. A young mother who served as a youth pastor in Florida City. There was even a Catholic priest — who ministered to the sick at Baptist Hospital.

They were police officers, legal office clerks, and cafeteria workers. Most were parents or grandparents. Many were immigrants, and toiled anonymously to build better lives for their families in South Florida.

Their common thread: They are among the most recent victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant, that has ravaged the state during the past two months. Most of the victims were not vaccinated.

Since July 1, Florida has recorded at least 6,722 COVID-19-related deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the deadliest two months since over 8,000 deaths were reported in January and February before vaccines were widely available. Public health experts say inoculations would have prevented many of the most recent deaths.

Rodrigo Rizzo, a 48-year-old Miami father of two had waffled on getting vaccinated. He wound up hospitalized in late July. “This is a plea to all my friends and family! Get vaccinated ASAP! This Covid wave is extremely aggressive and contagious!” Rizzo wrote on Facebook, as he battled to breathe.

Ten days later, Rizzo died. He was one of 185 Floridians who died on Aug. 5.

Exactly how many people have died of complications of COVID-19 in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe Counties in the latest surge is unclear. The Florida Department of Health no longer publishes deaths by county, and state medical examiner offices are no longer required to certify and track COVID-19 deaths.

Florida has also changed how it released COVID-19 deaths — categorizing them by date of death, rather than when they are reported to the state. Experts say that may lead to the false impression that the numbers are declining, because there is generally a delay as it takes time for deaths to be evaluated and death certificates processed.

In the last seven days, on average, Florida has added 262 deaths and 21,301 cases each day, according to Herald calculations. On Monday, the state’s department of health reported 902 deaths to the CDC, with all but eight of those deaths occurring after Aug. 2. According to a New York Times analysis, Florida is averaging nearly as many COVID deaths as Texas and California combined.

Local funeral homes are swamped.

“To be honest with you, the last three weeks have been the worst since COVID started over a year ago,” said Andre Dawson, the owner of Paradise Memorial Funeral Home in South Miami-Dade. “It’s at a point where the phone doesn’t stop ringing.”

He said the funeral home is averaging between 13 and 15 funerals a week, and many of them are heartbreaking COVID-19 cases.

“We had a husband and a wife a couple weeks ago. I just got a call [that now] we have a brother and sister,” Dawson said.

Evans St. Fort, who runs St. Fort’s Funeral Home in North Miami Beach, said he met with a woman last week who was planning her brother’s funeral. Soon after the service, she fell ill, was hospitalized and died. Now, the funeral home is planning her service — which also will be held to honor two additional family members who died.

“We thought we’d seen the worst of it last year. But we’re pretty much the same — if not worse — than last year,” St. Fort said.

Beyond Statistics

Death statistics don’t reveal the human and societal toll, the lost parents, friends and co-workers, the futures of families altered forever.

Some of their stories have emerged in the public eye.

Father Andrzej “Andrew” Pietraszko, died Aug. 27 of COVID-19 complications. A native of Poland, he served at several parishes, including Kendall’s Our Lady of Lourdes, before he embraced his role ministering to the ill at Baptist Hospital.

“In all his assignments I believe he was happiest in his last — as a hospital chaplain,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski told the Florida Catholic newspaper.

It was unclear if Pietraszko, 50, contracted the virus at the hospital where he worked. The Archdiocese declined to say whether the priest was vaccinated.

Law enforcement has been hit hard. In August, five South Florida police officers died in one week, including 27-year-old Fort Lauderdale officer Jennifer Sepot, a married mother of one; Eddie Perez, a 25-year-veteran of the Miami Beach Police Department; and Lazaro Febles, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.

Educators too have fallen to the virus. Broward Teachers Union, in August, announced two teachers and a teaching assistant died, just before the school year was to start. In Miami-Dade, Lillian Smith, a first-grade teacher at Dr. William A. Chapman Elementary in Naranja, died of COVID-19 — as did her daughter, Lakisha Williams, who worked as a cafeteria manager at the school. Neither was vaccinated.

Many more have died with little attention outside of their loved ones.

‘She didn’t complain’

Rocio “Rosi” Alvarez, a preschool teacher at Somerset Silver Palms Academy in Princeton and a mother of three, died of COVID-19 complications on Aug. 20. She was 39.

A native of Mexico, Alvarez was raised in South Miami-Dade, graduating from Homestead High in 2000, where she became a cadet with the JROTC Air Force Branch. She earned her associates degree from Miami-Dade College. She married her high-school sweetheart, Francisco Alvarez, and they had three children: Frank, 18, Jayden, 12, and Zuly, 5.

Her family was a part of the Princeton Church of the Nazarene; supporters have started a GoFundme page to raise money for her husband and children.

Just days before she fell seriously ill in early August, she’d talked with church members about completing her bachelor’s degree at Florida International University — she was just a few credits shy. “I told her I knew she would be a great principal one day, so capable of leading a school,” said Pam Armstrong, her pastor.

Alvarez, who was not vaccinated, experienced intense coughing, a spiking fever and vomiting and was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 6. She died two weeks later.

“She never seemed to have a bad day. If she did, she never showed it,” her family wrote in an obituary. “Even in the midst of her suffering with COVID, she didn’t complain. She trusted God and believed her life was in his hands.”

‘I was thankful I had him as my dad’

After a long career — first in the clothing business, then as a court bailiff — Reinaldo Dorta retired this year, hoping to enjoy his grandchildren, his cigars and single-malt scotch.

Dorta, 74, was born in Cuba, moved to Miami in his 20s and worked cutting textiles for a dressmaker before opening wholesale clothing stores with his wife, Mimiya. After two decades in the business, he went on to keep order in the courtroom of Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Carlos Guzman.

Dorta’s case is rare — he and his wife were vaccinated, but contracted the novel coronavirus in July. Experts say deaths of vaccinated persons are relatively rare, but are more likely among older people with underlying health issues. Dorta had been earlier diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease.

“It was shocking. It’s still shocking,” said Miami attorney Rey Dorta, his son. “You do everything right. You spend a year in isolation without seeing and hugging your grandkids, and finally vaccines come out, and we started getting more and more comfortable.”

The younger Dorta, who was also vaccinated, also got sick with a “breakthrough infection” around the same time, but had only mild symptoms. His father, however, experienced coughing, fever, aches, fatigue, congestion and shortness of breath. At the hospital, Reinaldo Dorta seemed to be making progress, but soon had to be placed on a ventilator — his lungs were unable to expand enough to supply his body with oxygen.

On his 10th day in the hospital, Dorta went into cardiac arrest six times before he passed away. Rey Dorta isn’t angry. “Nothing was left unsaid. I was thankful I had him as my dad,” he said.

A lifelong Republican, Rey Dorta is dismayed that mask wearing and vaccines have become a political issue. He even penned a letter to the Miami Herald critical of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of the crisis. “I see it is a health issue,” he said. “I like business. I want the economy to do well. I don’t see the big deal of mask wearing and vaccines.”

Rey Dorta’s two adult children, Krystina, 24, and Reinaldo III, age 22 — who initially did not want to get vaccinated — have since gotten their inoculations. A third child, Roberto, 17, has also been vaccinated.

‘I think she got it at work’

Marjorie Felix was also a devout Christian. Born and raised in Haiti, Felix was a longtime clerk with the child-support division of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

She had four adult children — and treated many of her co-workers like family. “If you weren’t feeling well, you could always count on Marjorie to make you a cup of tea, always with a hint of fresh ginger,” State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle wrote in an email to staff.

“She was a mother figure to everybody,” said her daughter, Claudine Destine.

Marjorie Felix was 59 and largely healthy, her family said. But she hadn’t wanted to get vaccinated, worried about whether it was safe. Then in mid-August, she fell ill with what she thought was a cold. Felix began laboring to breathe. Felix tested positive and was soon admitted to Jackson North Medical Center. She died within days.

“I think she got it from work. She doesn’t go anywhere else,” Claudine Destine said, adding that she hopes her mother’s story helps other people get vaccinated. “It took a toll on my mother. She’d been healthy.”

In the wake of her death, the State Attorney’s Office has begun to stagger shifts for employees in the child-support offices. On Monday, Fernandez Rundle announced mandatory weekly testing for unvaccinated employees, the latest government agency to impose the measure amid the spike in cases.

A young mother

The young daughter of Rachel Jennings-Lam will grow up without her mother.

Jennings-Lam, 30, of Homestead, died of complications of COVID-19 on Aug. 19. Her life had been challenging — she was born deprived of oxygen, and underwent years of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. “All the while, maintaining a sweet personality, consistent humor, and a smile that could light up the darkest room,” her parents wrote in her obituary.

She went on to graduate from Miami-Dade College, and ran a nail business while raising her young daughter, Abigail. Jennings-Lam was a Christian youth pastor at Florida City First Assembly of God, which is run by her parents.

She was not vaccinated, although her father said the family is not opposed to vaccinations. Jennings-Lam fell ill in July, along with the several members of her family, including her husband, Fabio Lam. She was the only one hospitalized, and she spent 31 days on a ventilator at Baptist Homestead Hospital before dying.

Pastor Jeffrey Jennings is still upset because he believes the hospital didn’t perform the right treatments. “Rachel was strong. There is no reason why she shouldn’t have pulled through this,” Jeffrey Jennings said.

Hundreds watched her funeral service, in person and live online, said her mother, Angie Jennings. “One thing Rachel wanted was for everyone to hear the gospel,” Angie Jennings said. “Over 7,000 people have viewed the funeral, that’s how many people heard the gospel.”

A devoted father

Rizzo, the father of two who died on Aug. 5, was born in Nicaragua and moved to Miami as a young child. An information technology engineer, he worked with various companies over the years, including with General Electric.

He had two young children: Arianna, 3, and Sebastian, 5. Their favorite activity: visiting parks across Miami-Dade County.

“Every day, around 5 p.m., my kids were waiting for their dad at the door and he would come in laughing and they would start running around,” said his wife, Lidia Solorzano-Rizzo. “He was about playing and giving love to the kids all the time.”

Rizzo, his wife said, had never been sold on getting the vaccine, saying he wasn’t comfortable because it wasn’t FDA approved. After she got her shot in April, he still demurred.

In late July, he began to feel ill and tested positive. Solorzano-Rizzo began to sleep in the bedroom of their children. They soon tested positive too, although they had no symptoms.

Solorzano-Rizzo never tested positive or fell ill.

Her husband had to be rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night, after he woke up struggling to breathe. During his hospital stay, Rizzo — normally an even-keeled, jovial man — was wracked by anxiety. “He said, ‘I can’t even change my pants because I cannot breathe. I get tired,’” Solorzano-Rizzo said. “Breathing was really difficult for him.”

Rizzo was put on a ventilator, and died soon after. His wife believes his story will help save other lives. It spurred her nephew to act. “The next day, he went and got the vaccine,” she said.

His supporters too have started a GoFundMe page to help support the family.

Loving Nature

COVID-19 also claimed Mark Silverman, a longtime science teacher at South Dade High. He was 59.

He studied zoology at the University of Florida and taught science for over 30 years. Silverman loved camping and fishing trips, and grew tropical fruits in his backyard. He was the father of two sons, Joseph, 30, and David, 23

“He loved nature,” said his sister, Gail Silverman. “He had a small farm in Homestead with dogs and chickens. He built a beautiful chicken coop and we always had fresh eggs.”

Silverman was also a devout Christian who went on mission trips with his church. He fought COVID-19 for about three weeks, and spent nearly a week intubated at Baptist Hospital before dying on Aug. 13.

Silverman was not vaccinated. He had believed the shot could affect someone’s DNA, according to his sister, a debunked theory that has circulated online. But his death has changed people’s minds, she said.

“I’m fully vaccinated and had COVID. There was divide there, but now everyone is on the same page,” Gail Silverman said. “We want to encourage people to get vaccinated.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 7:00 AM.