After 21 days, the family of Thomas Eric Duncan are Ebola free

The fiancee of Thomas Eric Duncan-the first man diagnosed with Ebola in the United States-is nearing the end of a 21 day quarantine, and she and her son and two nephews are grateful that this period is coming to an end.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - If October 20 passes without any of the four becoming sick, then they will have escaped contracting the deadly disease which has killed nearly 5,000 people in Western Africa.

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"We are so happy this is coming to an end, and we are so grateful that none of us has shown any sign of illness," Louise Troh said in an October 19 statement. "We have lost so much, but we have our lives and we have our faith in God, which always gives us hope."

An associate pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church, Mark Wingfield, told CNN just how happy the family was to have escaped relatively unscathed.

"They feel like this is a tremendous miracle that's happened," he said. "This is a long-awaited day of celebration."

A memorial service was held for Duncan at Rowan International Church in Salisbury, North Carolina on October 18, the town where his mother lives.

Duncan's nephew, Josephus Weeks, gave a eulogy that characterized Duncan as a kind compassionate man. In fact, former neighbors of Duncan in Liberia say that he may have contracted the disease from an infected pregnant woman, whom he had helped after she collapsed.

Weeks wishes that Duncan is remembered as a compassionate man, "as opposed to the person who brought this disease to America, because he didn't know he was sick."

"We continue to mourn his loss and grieve the circumstances that led to his death, just at the time we thought we were facing a happy future together," Troh said.

"Even though the quarantine is over, our time of mourning is not over."

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