MOUNT VERNON – Knox County saw its second fatality due to the novel coronavirus over the weekend.
Edward “Joe” Filipowicz, 74, of Howard, died Saturday from “pneumonia related to COVID-19,” Knox Public Health spokeswoman Pam Palm confirmed Tuesday. Filipowicz passed away at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital in Westerville.
Filipowicz had been tested at Knox Community Hospital on July 1 and was hospitalized shortly thereafter, Palm said. His test results were confirmed July 4. He was eventually transferred to St. Ann’s Hospital, where he passed away.
According to Filipowicz’s obituary, he was born July 23, 1945 in Erie, Pa. Filipowicz was a U.S. Air Force veteran.
He is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Linda (Berry) Filipowicz; two sons, Paul Alan Filipowicz and Andrew Vincent (Kelly) Filipowicz; and three grandchildren.
Filipowicz is the second Knox County resident to die from COVID-19, which had killed 3,189 Ohioans as of Monday. The first was David H. Waddell, a 90-year-old from Mount Vernon who died in Florida on April 1. Waddell was the county’s fifth confirmed case of COVID-19.
As of Monday, Knox County had recorded 80 positive cases and 11 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Knox Public Health joined forces with the Ohio National Guard to conduct community testing in Howard on Monday, and Palm said nearly 300 tests were administered. Those results are pending.
