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Santa Rosa Detective who died from coronavirus grew up in San Diego

Posted at 12:27 PM, Apr 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-02 15:56:38-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Detective Marylou Armer grew up in south east San Diego.

She graduated from Samuel Morse High School and went on to serve the public as a detective for the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Armer died last month from complications of the coronavirus.

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Armer’s sister, Maritess Lau, says she got into law enforcement because her father was in the military. But, above all she loved helping people.

"She always put people ahead of her and made sure they were taken care of. And she had everyone’s best interest," Lau said.

Her sister says they don’t know how Armer got the virus. But adds it was heartbreaking for them to be separated from her, not able to visit her in the hospital. Instead they had to rely on recorded messages letting her know they were pulling for her.

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"That’s the toughest part too we couldn’t be there to console her. We couldn’t see her. We couldn’t hug her. We couldn’t touch her. And tell her we loved her," says Lau.

And now because of coronavirus restrictions, they can’t even say goodbye to her the way they would like to.

To show local support, the San Diego Pan Pacific Law Enforcement Association has organized its honor guard, escorting Armer’s family to the airport on their way to Santa Rosa. The agency has set up a fund for the family, where donations can be made here.