DeAnna Athey

Restaurant worker Age: 34

It was right before the Fourth of July in 2021 when Mike Athey got a text saying his sister, DeAnna Athey, was sick with COVID-19.

What started out as a bad cough soon led to an ER visit. After the holiday, things took a turn for the worse for DeAnna, who had diabetes. She died of complications due to COVID-19 on July 7, 2021. She was 34.

The Aurora resident was witty and caring, Mike said, adding she was the one who held their family together.

DeAnna worked at the drive-thru of a McDonald’s in Aurora, where she’d “try to brighten up everyone’s day,” Mike said.

“Everybody in town knew her,” he said. “You could spit out a sarcastic remark, and she’d have a witty response right away.”

Mike said he’ll miss going to see movies with DeAnna. Together, they made a tradition of seeing every movie in the Harry Potter series and its sequels.