South Carolina Teacher Dies From Covid-19; Mother Dies Weeks Later

A mother and daughter have lost their lives to from Covid-19 complications weeks apart, Live 5 News reports.

Demi Bannister, 28, passed away after being diagnosed with the coronavirus. Weeks later her mother Shirley Bannister also passed.

Demi Bannister worked as a school teacher at Richland Two and her mother Shirley was the Department Chair for Nursing at Midlands Tech. Prior to Shirley’s passing she told WIS in 2019, she considered nursing her “God-given passion.” She was honored with the Community Builder award for her dedication and hard work of inspiring future nurses.

“She finds more than 24 hours in the day, and I don’t know how she does it to make the world a better place,” said colleague Kelly Horn in 2019.

Demi passed on September 7, a few days later her mother was admitted into the hospital due to Covid-19.

Shirley Bannister’s sister-in-law whose name is also Shirley, Shirley Mills Bannister, described Shirley as a “wonderful, wonderful person.” She added her sister-in-law was, “certainly an angel on Earth, there is no doubt about that.”

As for Demi, she was considered a “song bird” around the school, despite that it was not one of strong skills, Mills Bannister said.

“She did do some mean lip-syncing, though,” Mills Bannister added.

Midlands Technical College President Dr. Ronald L. Rhames released a statement regarding Bannister’s passing saying:

“My heart is broken. Shirley was like an angel on Earth. Her life mission was caring for others. She earned her nursing degree from Midlands Technical College as a teen, went on to earn a master’s degree. Shirley eventually returned to MTC to teach nursing and impact the lives of hundreds of future healers in our community as chair of the MTC Nursing Department. While her death is devastating, her impact is everlasting. The entire MTC family offer her family support and our prayers.”