Sen. Elizabeth Warren revealed Thursday that her brother, Don Reed, died of coronavirus Tuesday. The former Democratic presidential candidate honored him in a series of tweets, calling him “charming and funny.”
“My oldest brother, Don Reed, died from coronavirus on Tuesday evening. He joined the Air Force at 19 and spent his career in the military, including five and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam. He was charming and funny, a natural leader,” she wrote, linking to a Boston Globe article on the 86-year-old’s death.
Alongside a picture of him, she wrote, “What made him extra special was his smile–quick and crooked, it always seemed to generate its own light, one that lit up everyone around him.”
She then pivoted to cheering the medical professionals tackling the pandemic, saying, “I’m grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him, but it’s hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say “I love you” one more time–and no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close. I’ll miss you dearly my brother.”
Condolences poured in from celebrities and politicos like Monica Lewinsky, Democratic Coalition co-founder Scott Dworkin and Warren’s one-time competition for the Democratic nomination, Pete Buttigieg.