JAMUL, Calif. (KGTV) - A Jamul family is mourning the loss from COVID-19 of a former little league coach and employee at Taylor Guitars.
Greg Denny came down with a sinus headache in the second week of June. A trip to the ER revealed double pneumonia. Then came a positive COVID-19 test and fever, before his wife Kim brought him back to the hospital.
“Five days of fever, hadn't been able to break it. He was at 102°,” said Kim Denny.
A week after Greg was admitted, he was placed on a ventilator.
“It was very emotional, like a roller coaster. Good one day and then things changed that same day,” she said.
Eventually, the bad days took over. His kidneys failed. So did his pancreas. Then he got a blood infection. Last Friday, Greg — an Army veteran, father of two and grandfather of four — passed away at the age of 48.
“He was my soulmate, my best friend and now he's my guardian angel,” she said.
Kim calls her husband a wonderful dad and grandfather.
“He’s the best man I’ve ever known,” said Dillon Wulff, Greg’s adult son.
For the last five years, Greg has worked in security at Taylor Guitars. For more than two decades, he has coached or volunteered for little league games in Spring Valley.
In her time of grief, Kim takes comfort in the daily game they played called, "I love you more."
“Whoever said it first would win. So constantly, he'd get up and say, ‘I love you more.’ I'd get up and say, ‘I love you more,’" said Kim.
They would play that game until the day he went on the ventilator.
As for where the origin of the COVID-19, she has no idea. He always wore masks.
“My husband was very safe … So, it’s scary. People need to take every precaution that they can,” said Kim.
Greg did have an underlying condition: high blood pressure. A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help his family with expenses.
Taylor Guitars issued the following statement:
“Everyone at Taylor Guitars is heartbroken by the loss of Gregory Denny. For the last 6 years, he came to work with a smile, bringing joy and professionalism to his job. Today Taylor is safer and better equipped to handle emergency situations because of Gregory’s leadership as our security specialist. He was a great co-worker and friend, and we will all miss him.”
