The family of a Colorado man who died after eating McDonald's Quarter Pounders says he 'put his trust in these restaurants'

There was one death in the severe E. coli outbreak at McDonald's that affected more people in Colorado than any other state. That victim – JC Smith, 88 – lived in Grand Junction, and his family there says they are heartbroken.

“He just wanted to enjoy a hamburger with his wife. He trusted these restaurants and all we really want is for our dad to be back,” said his daughter Debbie Bonnell.

The outbreak was combined with onions Used for McDonald's Quarter Pounder sandwiches. Investigators believe these onions came from the Taylor Farms distribution facility in Colorado Springs. These onions were taken from affected McDonald's locations and Taylor Farms recalled yellow onion slices that were sent to other food service locations.

90 cases have been reported in 13 states, and in Colorado, 26 people reported the illness and attributed it to this outbreak. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people recover from E. colibut some people saw it severe complications. This was initially the case with Smith, whose full name was James Charles Smith.

Smith was a frequent McDonald's customer

JC Smith and his wife Doris often went out to dinner in western Colorado and often visited the same McDonald's not far from their home. They ordered the same food every time: a Quarter Pounder.

According to Bonnell, after a visit at the end of September, he was very sick and in the hospital.

After four days there he was released. Doctors said lab tests showed it was E. coli. His daughter completed an interview with the Mesa County Health Department before leaving.

“(The health department worker) asked, 'Where did my parents eat?' because there was some sort of outbreak,” Bonnell said. “But they wouldn’t say where yet.”

Sometime after that hospitalization, Smith went back to McDonald's and ate another Quarter Pounder. This time, when he developed symptoms again and went to the hospital, he died. His death was on October 20th.

Smith was likely one of the first people to be diagnosed with a positive E. coli case in the nationwide outbreak.

A strong, loving man

Bonnell says her father was a Marine veteran and didn't slow down in life.

“Before he got sick, he just wanted to walk and do something, even though I was told his feet couldn't move very well,” she said.

He grew up in Mississippi and worked as a firefighter and later as a postal worker. The couple moved to Colorado in the 1980s. In Colorado, he was a small business owner and then maintenance manager at Vail Run Resort. He returned south for a stay, but then moved back to Mesa County.

This year JC and Doris celebrated their 70th year of marriage. They still went on trips together and enjoyed playing with their great-grandchildren.

“All in all, my father was a loving person. He was compassionate. If he had to be strict, you didn't want to be on that side,” said his son Jim Smith.

He had the onions, she didn't

While Smith and his wife always ate Quarter Pounders at McDonald's, Doris isn't a fan of onions.

“I took mine off and gave him mine,” Doris said. “I feel guilty now because I gave him onions.”

Doris says she called her daughter on October 3 to tell her that the normally strong JC had suddenly become weak.

“Your father is very dizzy and doesn’t want to get up. He's afraid he might fall,” she recalled of the phone conversation.

Bonnell said she immediately went to her parents' house.

“My mother was awake all night. He was on the toilet all night and had bloody diarrhea and was so weak,” she said. “When I got here he was so weak he couldn’t walk.”

After four days in the hospital, the family was unaware that there was a particular restaurant they should avoid.

“She didn’t tell me (for us) not to go out to eat anymore,” said Doris, referring to the health authorities.

When JC got sick again after eating at McDonald's, this time it was much worse.

“We watched for many days as my father was in unbearable pain – kicking around with his arms and legs. It was very hard,” Bonnell said. “I would hold his hand and pray and tell him to try to rest: 'We are here with you' and 'We are getting help for you.'”

Two days after JC's death, health officials reported the outbreak to the public.

Sharing your story out of concern

Jim Smith said he didn't plan for “my father to go down this path.”

“We still had a lot of plans,” he said.

Smith's grandson Jim says his family is angry and questions whether more could have been done to save their beloved family member. But the reason they decided to speak publicly about what happened was because they were concerned about the health of others.

“When you're out there in this industry… and you lose a certain level of concern or become complacent, accidents happen. Then you will be held responsible. And when you talk about taking people's loved ones and permanently changing their lives, others need to know,” he said.

The Smiths have not filed a lawsuit against McDonald's or anyone else involved at this time. Right now they say all they want is the man they loved.