Hampton, of Hamilton, was hospitalized for seven days, came home for one day, then went back into Bethesda North Hospital where she died Jan. 16 of COVID-19 complications. She was 43.
“Much of it is a blur to me,” said her husband, who is unsure when and how his wife of 23 years was infected by the coronavirus.
Hampton also had sarcoidosis, a condition that causes the hardening of the lungs, and that may have played a role in her being unable to survive COVID-19, her family said.
How she died won’t define her life, her husband said. Instead, he will remember his wife and mother of their two children for the way she devoted most of her adult life to volunteerism.
She was affectionately called “a professional volunteer” because she “liked to give back in the community and help other people,” her husband said.
Hampton, a 1995 Fairfield High School graduate, received her marketing degree from Miami University in 1997 and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2013.
As a registered nurse, she worked at Shriner’s Burn Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Fairfield Pavilion. Her career was cut short when she became legally blind six years ago when histoplasmosis settled in her eyes, her husband said.
But that didn’t stop her from volunteering.
Her husband said what was especially important to his wife was her volunteer work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation where she worked relentlessly for 16 years to provide last wishes to children dying of cancer. She also was passionate about breast cancer prevention and March of Dimes, he said.
The Hamptons met in Eavey’s Grocery Store in Hamilton, where she worked and he stocked the shelves with Pepsi. She was in charge of signing the paperwork after he made the delivery, he said.
“People laughed when we told them we met in a grocery store,” he said.
What asked what lessons he learned from his wife, Hampton said: “Take each and every day as it comes and help others.”
Besides her husband, she’s survived by her children Kellan, 17, and Annika, 10; her parents Michael and Violet Verdin; and her brothers Jamison (Deanna) Verdin and Jeffery Verdin.
A visitation will be 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Friday followed by Mass Christian of Burial at noon with Father Jim Wedig celebrant at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 3350 Chapel Road, Shandon. Entombment will follow at Rose Hill Burial Park.
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