Putting good into the world: Michele Recanati, a bubbly Iowa medical assistant, died of COVID-19 Tony Leys, Des Moines Register Iowa Mourns: Friends and families remember those lost to COVID-19 Replay Video UP NEXT Michele Recanati loved being a mom to three sons. She loved working as a medical assistant. And she loved being an identical twin to her sister, Cynthia. The two women lived in the same towns most of their lives. First in California, then in Idaho, and then in northeast Iowa. And they both worked as medical assistants, most recently at the MercyOne hospital in Oelwein. Michele’s boisterous voice and laugh were often heard way down the halls, announcing her presence to patients and colleagues before they could see her. She found a deep fulfillment in lifting the patients’ spirits, even when they were contending with serious health problems, said her sister Cynthia Recanati.