Grandfather of Dalton City Councilwoman dies due to complications with coronavirus

Dalton City Councilwoman Annalee Harlan / photo contributed by Dalton City Council
Dalton City Councilwoman Annalee Harlan / photo contributed by Dalton City Council

Jack Bandy, the grandfather of Dalton City Councilwoman Annalee Harlan, died Sunday due to complications related to the coronavirus. He was 93 years old.

Harlan released a statement Friday saying she was self-quarantining after her grandfather tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized on March 25 at Emory University Hospital for moderate to severe respiratory symptoms.

Harlan said she had contact with her grandfather while her family helped take care of him before his test results came back. Out of an abundance of caution she is deciding to self-quarantine.

Bandy had been isolated since March 15 when he started experiencing an brief, mild upper respiratory and sinus illness. He started taking antibiotics that seemed to have worked for a few days, but on March 19 he had a fever over 100 and a dry cough. He started to feel even worse on Wednesday when his healthcare provider made the decision to seek hospitalization.

Harlan joined the Dalton City Council in January 2018. Before starting her own healthcare services company in 2017, she worked for 12 years as a paramedic.

As of Sunday at noon, 80 people have died in Georgia due to the coronavirus and 2,651 people have tested positive for the virus. Whitfield County currently has eight positive cases.

Bandy co-founded Coronet Industries with Bud Seretean and Guy Henley in 1956. He helped grow the company into one of America's biggest carpet companies, which was sold to RCA Corp. in 1971 and later became part of GE and ultimately Beaulieu of America.

Bandy took over his family's carpet business after his father, B.J. Bandy, died in 1948.

Among his many philanthropic initiatives, Bandy helped establish the Bandy Heritage Center of Northwest Georgia as a community outreach program of Dalton State College to celebrate the history and culture of Northwest Georgia. In 2008 he endowed the center with $2 million for staff and materials.

Bandy also was a major contributor to the Hamilton Health Care System and the Whitfield Healthcare Foundation. The Whitfield Healthcare Foundation honored him with its Humanitarian Award. He was a charter member of the Junior Achievement Northwest Georgia Business Hall of Fame in 2006.

Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.

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