Health & Fitness
2019 Puyallup Grad Dies After Hospitalization For Coronavirus
Puyallup High's baseball team has announced it will retire Eli Sevener's jersey in his memory.
PUYALLUP, WA — 2019 Puyallup High School grad Eli Sevener died just days after being hospitalized with complications due to the coronavirus, according to family members.
On Monday, Eli's brother Zach Sevener posted on Twitter, asking for prayers for Eli following his sudden hospitalization for "COVID complications." On Wednesday, Zach announced that his brother had died.
It breaks my heart to inform everyone that Eli has been taken off of life support and has passed on to heaven this afternoon. Our family is devastated and in shock by the way everything happened. He was such a fantastic brother, friend, co-worker and son. He had so much more to -
— Zach Sevener (@Znasty253) August 5, 2020
give to this world. We ask that he is never forgotten and that you take some time today and remember your positive memories of him. He will be watching over us as we go through the rest of our lives. #RestInPeaceEli
— Zach Sevener (@Znasty253) August 5, 2020
Sevener played baseball for Puyallup High and had just graduated last year. Following Sevener's death, dozens of community members and organizations reached out to share their condolences, including the Puyallup baseball team, who said they would dedicate their next season to Eli in his memory.
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The Puyallup Viking baseball family’s hearts are broken by the loss of one of their own. Eli will forever be missed, and we wish his family and community love and healing. The 2021 Vikings will play in his honor pic.twitter.com/Hzlc2EPYuN
— Puyallup Baseball (@VikingBaseball_) August 5, 2020
The team also told the Tacoma News Tribune they would retire Eli's 21 Jersey in the spring.
"He was just a tremendous young man," Puyallup baseball coach Marc Wiese told the Tribune. "For us, he was a hard-working dedicated young man that finally got his opportunity to shine as a senior on the mound for us."
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"I know he was beloved by his teammates. He was a great young man," said Wiese.
Sevener is one of now 123 Pierce County residents who have died due to the coronavirus pandemic, and more than 1,600 who have died across Washington. Records from the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department show that Sevener is likely the only person in his age group who has died of the coronavirus in Pierce County. The overwhelming majority of deadly cases have been in patients 70 or older.
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