A young B.C. farmer, whose story has inspired others to get vaccinated, has died after a brief but devastating battle against COVID鈥檚 Delta variant.
Josh Mellor, 39, died Monday on Vancouver Island leaving behind his wife Miranda, two daughters (an infant and a toddler), his family, and a host of friends and neighbours in the Duncan area who were doing everything they could to support a man who spent his life doing everything he could to support them.
鈥淛osh will be greatly missed by many. He held his many friendships very close to his heart. He was very shocked at the outpouring of community support for him and his family, and wanted to thank everyone for their involvement,鈥� said the obituary provided by his sister Sara Phillips.
Mellor鈥檚 trade and passion was farming and farm equipment, but family is where his heart was.
鈥淛osh really loved being a dad to his girls, and a husband to Miranda, these girls were his world,鈥� said the obituary. 鈥淛osh met Miranda, his future wife in 2011, and was immediately smitten. They were married on the family farm June 7, 2014. Like in their wedding song lyrics 鈥業鈥檒l do anything with you anywhere鈥�, they were always up for an adventure together.鈥�
Their first daughter, Georgia, was born Sept. 29, 2019 then on June 9, 2021 they welcomed their second beautiful daughter, Mila.
Not three months following the birth of his daughter, Mellor, wasn鈥檛 feeling well. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 2 after a runny nose devolved into severe coughs and body aches.
An asthmatic, Mellor was assessed at Cowichan District Hospital on Sept. 7 but was sent home with an inhaler and additional monitoring. The following day with his condition deteriorating, he returned to CDH via ambulance but later transferred to Victoria鈥檚 Royal Jubilee Hospital鈥檚 Intensive Care Unit.
Mellor texted Miranda on Sept. 19, saying that he loved her and was about to be intubated and put on a ventilator.
The well-wishes and support for he and his family grew online on the Josh鈥檚 Fan Club Facebook page, where numbers grew to 2.6k followers, and in person, with financial and meal support, prayers and more being offered to the Mellor family.
The page also encouraged others to consider vaccination. While Miranda had two doses of the vaccine, Josh was not vaccinated and was on the fence about getting it. Since then Mellor鈥檚 battle has prompted many within the community to get the Jab for Josh.
Late Sunday night, into the early morning hours of Monday morning, Mellor鈥檚 family was called to the hospital.
He didn鈥檛 make it.
鈥淲e were so blessed to have the most wonderful, caring, compassionate staff in the ICU and would like to thank each and every one of them for their valiant efforts to save Josh,鈥� said the obituary.
Those still wishing to support the Mellor family during this time can donate right to the family via a direct deposit account for etransfers at: smellor@shaw.ca. Just be sure to put 鈥淛osh鈥� in the comment/memo section or through the 鈥淛osh鈥檚 Fan Club鈥� on GoFundMe via this link:
A private family service and Celebration of Life will come once the pandemic is under control.
sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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