Oakland woman dies of coronavirus within days

OAKLAND, Calif. - An 81-year-old Oakland woman recently died of coronavirus and her family is not only mourning their loss, but they are incredulous at how fast she died. 

Barbara Johnson Hopper, who loved to garden at her Oakland Hills home and was an active real estate agent, died last Thursday after contracting the virus.

Her daughter, Adriane Williams, said: “None of her friends, none of her family would have ever imagined she'd be gone right now." 

After feeling ill, but not terrible, she went to the hospital on a Saturday. Three days later, she was in ICU. Two days later she died, her daughter said. 

"It happened very fast," Williams said.

Hopper had wanted to go home for hospice, but never made it because her health declined too fast.

She couldn’t even breathe on her own and needed a ventilator.

Her husband, Dr. Cornelius Hopper, is now cherishing the love of his life -- a vibrant woman who once owned her own real estate business, and was still planning on doing deals just a week before her death.

“An incredibly, beautiful, vibrant achieving person that I was just absolutely grateful to have shared 55 years with,” he said. 

 Hopper is survived by her husband, three kids and two grandchildren.

With social distancing in place, the family is still trying to figure out how to handle funeral arrangements.

Greg Liggins is reporter forKTVU.  Email Greg at Greg.Liggins@foxtv.com