Loving & Devoted Father Life Cut Short
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A former volunteer Sugar Grove firefighter died Sunday from COVID-19, his family said.
Fred J. Felella Jr., 58, of Sugar Grove, died Sunday after battling the coronavirus for about three weeks, his daughter Amanda Felella said.
Sugar Grove Fire Chief William Perkins said Fred Felella worked for the Sugar Grove Fire Department as a paid volunteer firefighter from 1994 to 2007. He then went on to work at Big Rock Fire Protection District for two years, Amanda said.
Though he didn’t serve in the military himself, Fred Felella joined Aurora AmVets Post 103, which was just one of a number of groups he supported. He also joined the Dedicated Sons LEMC, a nonprofit organization of men who are in law enforcement, fire, EMS or military fields.
It seemed “Freddy,” as his cousin Roy Kopstain called him, was always participating in or organizing a fundraiser to benefit research into diseases such as Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis or breast cancer.
When he was a volunteer for the Sugar Grove Fire Department, he’d also volunteer to dress up as Santa, and he enjoyed participating in fire musters, which are competitions focusing on firefighting skills.
He also worked for nine years at the Fox Valley Career Center teaching EMS courses and fire service.
“He was really into that kind of stuff and he affected so many different types of people from all the work he did in different circles. We’ve enjoyed hearing stories of people whose lives he touched,” said Kopstain, who set up a GoFundMe account for Felella’s family.
Kopstain described his cousin as an outgoing man with a great sense of humor.
“He was really happy-go-lucky. He’s one of those people that when you talked to him, you liked him," Kopstain said.
Amanda, 23, believes her father contracted COVID-19 during a trip to California in March to visit his son Andrew, 20, who was looking to buy a car.
She noticed he was coughing on the plane after their two-day visit to California, and the next day he said he had a cough, runny nose, fever and sore throat.
“We were out in the California sun, so I said maybe you’re just sick because we went from 65-degree weather and came home to a snowstorm," she said.
In late March, she said he got up to go to his car and was so out of breath it was like he had run a marathon. The next day, he texted her and said he felt perfect and he could run a mile.
But when he admitted himself into AMITA Health Mercy Medical Center in Aurora on March 31, "it started back up again,” she said. “That’s the crazy thing about this virus is its ups and downs.”
Visiting him at the hospital, Amanda wrote him a note saying she hoped he would soon be home and on his motorcycle. Fred had just bought a new motorcycle a month ago and had only been able to ride it home from the dealership.
However, a doctor called Amanda last weekend and said her father’s whole body was shutting down, and he was considered brain dead. She came to the hospital on Sunday in full protective gear and was able to hold his hand and say goodbye.
“He fought as much as he could,” Amanda said. “I said everyone loves you and now you get to take care of us in heaven. He was tearing up as I told him, and once they took him off the ventilator, he squeezed my hand.”
Fred’s mother Bonnie Felella is at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and has tested positive for coronavirus, Amanda said. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital on Saturday and was scheduled to be released Tuesday, Amanda said.
A celebration of life service will be held for Fred Felella after life returns to normal, Amanda said.
“It’s still numbing to know that I’m not going to have a father for the rest of my life and I have no one to walk me down the aisle,” Amanda said. “I would call him any time of the day for hours on end. It’s crazy. I hope they find a cure so that other families don’t have to go through this.”
[email redacted]
[email redacted]
Fred J. Felella Jr., 58, of Sugar Grove, died Sunday after battling the coronavirus for about three weeks, his daughter Amanda Felella said.
Sugar Grove Fire Chief William Perkins said Fred Felella worked for the Sugar Grove Fire Department as a paid volunteer firefighter from 1994 to 2007. He then went on to work at Big Rock Fire Protection District for two years, Amanda said.
Though he didn’t serve in the military himself, Fred Felella joined Aurora AmVets Post 103, which was just one of a number of groups he supported. He also joined the Dedicated Sons LEMC, a nonprofit organization of men who are in law enforcement, fire, EMS or military fields.
It seemed “Freddy,” as his cousin Roy Kopstain called him, was always participating in or organizing a fundraiser to benefit research into diseases such as Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis or breast cancer.
When he was a volunteer for the Sugar Grove Fire Department, he’d also volunteer to dress up as Santa, and he enjoyed participating in fire musters, which are competitions focusing on firefighting skills.
He also worked for nine years at the Fox Valley Career Center teaching EMS courses and fire service.
“He was really into that kind of stuff and he affected so many different types of people from all the work he did in different circles. We’ve enjoyed hearing stories of people whose lives he touched,” said Kopstain, who set up a GoFundMe account for Felella’s family.
Kopstain described his cousin as an outgoing man with a great sense of humor.
“He was really happy-go-lucky. He’s one of those people that when you talked to him, you liked him," Kopstain said.
Amanda, 23, believes her father contracted COVID-19 during a trip to California in March to visit his son Andrew, 20, who was looking to buy a car.
She noticed he was coughing on the plane after their two-day visit to California, and the next day he said he had a cough, runny nose, fever and sore throat.
“We were out in the California sun, so I said maybe you’re just sick because we went from 65-degree weather and came home to a snowstorm," she said.
In late March, she said he got up to go to his car and was so out of breath it was like he had run a marathon. The next day, he texted her and said he felt perfect and he could run a mile.
But when he admitted himself into AMITA Health Mercy Medical Center in Aurora on March 31, "it started back up again,” she said. “That’s the crazy thing about this virus is its ups and downs.”
Visiting him at the hospital, Amanda wrote him a note saying she hoped he would soon be home and on his motorcycle. Fred had just bought a new motorcycle a month ago and had only been able to ride it home from the dealership.
However, a doctor called Amanda last weekend and said her father’s whole body was shutting down, and he was considered brain dead. She came to the hospital on Sunday in full protective gear and was able to hold his hand and say goodbye.
“He fought as much as he could,” Amanda said. “I said everyone loves you and now you get to take care of us in heaven. He was tearing up as I told him, and once they took him off the ventilator, he squeezed my hand.”
Fred’s mother Bonnie Felella is at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and has tested positive for coronavirus, Amanda said. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital on Saturday and was scheduled to be released Tuesday, Amanda said.
A celebration of life service will be held for Fred Felella after life returns to normal, Amanda said.
“It’s still numbing to know that I’m not going to have a father for the rest of my life and I have no one to walk me down the aisle,” Amanda said. “I would call him any time of the day for hours on end. It’s crazy. I hope they find a cure so that other families don’t have to go through this.”
[email redacted]
[email redacted]
Organizer and beneficiary
Roy R Kopstain III
Organizer
Crest Hill, IL
Amanda Felella
Beneficiary