(CNN) David Williams had his first date with his future wife 22 years ago on Easter Sunday. But this Easter, he mourned her loss as he spent the day without her by his side.

Vitalina Williams, 59, died as a result of coronavirus on April 4, her husband said. She worked as a cashier at the Market Basket grocery store in Salem, Massachusetts, and was also employed at the Walmart in Lynn. Vitalina is among the growing number of grocery store workers across the United States who have become infected and died of coronavirus-related causes.

Vitalina came to the United States in the late 1990s from Guatemala to help provide for loved ones back in Central America and for her own economic advancement, her family said. She had no underlying conditions that her family was aware of, her husband said.

"I've never known anybody be more loving, more open, more happy than she was," Williams told CNN. "I never deserved her, but I always wanted to strive to deserve her." She adored flowers, especially orchids, and she and Williams greatly enjoyed cooking together. For Vitalina, Williams said, it was a joy to send gifts to her siblings and nieces in Guatemala.

Williams last saw his wife when she was on a ventilator in a hospital bed. For comfort, her husband brought along a teddy bear that he had given her as a gift when they were dating, Williams said. Since Vitalina was devoutly religious, Williams requested for a priest to administer her last rites -- the prayers given before death. "After I left they (the hospital) would stop all (life) support and let her pass away," he said.

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