AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Now to a more personal story about loss and the pandemic.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
A lot changed in the 26 years that Randy and Elisa Hinojosa were married, but not their song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NEON MOON")
BROOKS AND DUNN: (Singing) Now, if you lose your one and only, there's always room here for the lonely.
SHAPIRO: That's "Neon Moon" by Brooks & Dunn. It was the soundtrack to the Hinojosas' life together. But now it's the soundtrack to a memorial video put together by Elisa's family.
CHANG: Randy Hinojosa spoke with News 4 in San Antonio after the TikTok video went viral. Both he and Elisa contracted the coronavirus in September. He got better, but she didn't. She fought for five weeks and died on October 25.
RANDY HINOJOSA: (Crying) I had to tell her, I'm sorry. I wish it was me. But it was time for her to go see her daddy and go get her wings.
SHAPIRO: On a GoFundMe page for memorial and medical costs, Randy remembered Elisa as a woman with an inspiring boss-lady mentality and a smile that was beyond contagious, someone whose hugs felt like home.
CHANG: They have three children together and two grandchildren. And every morning until the end, Randy would kiss her forehead before heading out into the world.
HINOJOSA: (Crying) 26 years of marriage - COVID took her away from me in five weeks - five weeks. It's not supposed to happen.
SHAPIRO: Elisa Hinojosa was 54 when she died last month.
(SOUNDBITE OF BROOKS AND DUNN SONG, "NEON MOON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
