Mother of Timberwolves’ Towns dies after virus battle

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 10, 2018, Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves hugs his parents, Karl and Jackie Towns after winning the game against the Denver Nuggets at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets 112-106. – Jacqueline Towns, mother of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, died April 13, 2020, of complications of the coronavirus, the NBA team announced.
“Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, had been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th,” the Timberwolves said in a statement released on Monday. (Photo by Hannah Foslien / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Jacqueline Towns, mother of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, died Monday of complications of the coronavirus, the NBA team announced.

“Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, had been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th,” the Timberwolves said in a statement released on Monday.

“Jackie was many things to many people — a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; a fiery, caring, and extremely loving person, who touched everyone she met.”

Karl-Anthony Towns had posted an emotional Instagram video on March 25 describing his mother’s battle with suspected COVID-19 that eventually saw her sedated and put on a ventilator.

Towns, 24, urged his social media followers to take the issue seriously and follow social distancing guidelines.

© Agence France-Presse