Family Remembers OHP Trooper Who Died Of COVID-19

A captain with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has become the first trooper in the state to die of COVID-19. Jeff Sewell, 58, died Saturday after battling the disease for a month. 

When people talk about Jeff Sewell, they can’t help but smile.

“Oh, he was silly. He was always the life of the party. He loved the attention. He would dress up every Halloween he had a costume. He loved kids. He was just a big kid mainly.” Sewell’s daughter, Jenni Allen said.

“Oh, he was a little bit hard on me to start off with, you know? He wanted to make sure I didn’t get any special treatment working for him. But I could tell that he really loved me. Some of his other partners would tell me how much he would say he is proud of me. That would get back to me. He was like a dad, you know?” Son-in-law and Trooper Tommy Allen added.

Sewell served 22-years with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He was married for 38-years; coached football and volunteered with Special Olympics. He was a volunteer firefighter, a Deacon at his church and taught Sunday school. He dedicated his life to serving others.

“Going to church and serving the Lord. And that’s just the kind of guy he was in the community. He would drop whatever he was doing to help other people,” Tommy said.

Sewell got sick the last week in August and tested positive for COVID 19. 

On September 5 he was having trouble breathing and went to the hospital. He never came home.

“He had no health issues. The only thing he ever took was maybe some vitamins. He got up at five every morning, worked out at the gym, and ran.” Jenni said. “We actually thought that he was improving…and Friday and even Saturday morning, the day of his death, he looked good. His numbers were good. He did have MERSA in his lungs, but I guess that the COVID had left so much damage that it couldn’t be repaired.”

Sewell was 20 months from retirement and was looking forward to spending time with his five grandchildren. 

“I just…We’re just going to miss him.” Tommy said. “Everybody’s going to miss him.”

Funeral services for Captain Sewell will be Thursday in Atoka.