real people

Posted on April 25, 2020 By Judd Lifschitz

Day 40. My blog post of several days ago lamented the fact that the pernicious effect of this pandemic is largely being reported by way statics which convey the enormity of the Corona virus’ deadly march through country after country at the cost of losing site of the individuals, the real people, who make up these unfortunate statics.

The Washington Post published today an article which focuses on personal human tragedies and losses. I commend it to your attention.

Faces of the dead

This is how they lived — and what was lost when they died.

APRIL 24, 2020 On my list

No infectious disease in a century has exacted as swift and merciless a toll on the United States as covid-19. With no vaccine and no cure, the pandemic has killed people in every state. The necessary isolation it imposes has robbed the bereaved of proper goodbyes and the comfort of mourning rituals. Those remembered in this continually updating series represent but some of the tens of thousands who have died. Some were well-known, and many were unsung. All added their stories, from all walks of life, to the diversity of the American experience.

MORE COVERAGE

A token of our love: A memorial for those lost to covid-19

Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.

The first 1,000: Who the U.S.’s first victims were and what we’ve learned(Family photo)

“If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s that his story can be shared.”

Nathel Burtley, 79, was the first black superintendent of Flint, Mich. Family and friends said Burtley was determined to improve the experience of minority students, using the lessons he learned while growing up in a segregated Illinois city to fuel his work in Michigan.

“Whoever you needed, Bob knew at least two of them.”

Bob Barnum, 64, was a descendant of circus founder P.T. Barnum, an early LGBTQ activist in Florida and a friend of one of the stars of the 1980s sitcom “The Golden Girls.” He pushed businesses in St. Petersburg, Fla., to broaden their nondiscrimination policies and ensured that the local domestic violence center was knowledgeable about LGBTQ couples.

Read more about him(Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Jerry Givens, 67, led the country’s second-busiest execution team for 17 years, presiding over 62 executions, before becoming a prominent opponent of the death penalty. He organized protests, testified before lawmakers and met with incarcerated people, corrections officers and the families of victims.

Read more about him(Louisiana governor’s office)

“To put it simply, she’s the most determined person I’ve ever met.”

April Dunn, 33, center, was an outspoken disability rights advocate in Louisiana state government. Denied a high school diploma and shut out of jobs because of her disabilities, she helped rewrite state law to make sure people like her had equal access to education and employment.

“After living through that hell, she was blessed with the gift of authenticity.”

Margit Buchhalter Feldman, 90, was a Holocaust survivor who dedicated her life to teaching children about the atrocities that killed around 6 million Jews. She died one day before the 75th anniversary of her liberation from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

“Everything in Jen’s world had glitter on it. Everything had a little flair.”

Jennifer Arnold, 67, was a longtime costume dresser on Broadway for “Phantom of the Opera” and a “New Yorker through and through,” her friends and family said. She lived her life immersed in creativity, spending her childhood summers in an artist’s colony in Woodstock, dancing her way around the world in her 20s and showcasing her late father’s paintings throughout New York City. She worked the final performance of “Phantom” before Broadway went dark — and fell ill days later.

“I don’t think he was ever going to be anything but someone who helped people.”

Frank Gabrin, 60, right, became the first emergency room physician in the United States to die of the virus after he treated patients in hard-hit areas in New York and New Jersey. Known for his buoyant Type A personality, he cooked lasagna dinners for his colleagues and wrote two books to help other health-care workers find purpose in their jobs.

“He is a truly original writer, unequaled, and a genuine poet of the American people.”

John Prine, 73, was a raspy-voiced heartland troubadour who wrote and performed songs about faded hopes, failing marriages, flies in the kitchen and the desperation of people just getting by. He was, as one of his songs put it, the bard of “broken hearts and dirty windows.”

Read more about him from Obituaries Read more about him from Opinions(Courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times)

Patricia Frieson, 61, left, and Wanda Bailey, 63, were sisters whose lives centered on their large but close-knit family and their deep faith in God. The family was shaken when Patricia became the first patient in Illinois to die of the coronavirus and was further devastated when Wanda died days later.

“She said, ‘Mommy, I’m going to work because no one else is going to help the senior citizens get their groceries.’ ”

Leilani Jordan, 27, was a Giant grocery store employee with an overpowering desire to help others. Nicknamed “Butterfly,” she kept going to work despite the risks, and her mother held her as she died.

Read more about her(Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Stanley Chera, 78, second from right, was a real estate developer and property owner who started out in New York’s outer boroughs and moved onto the big stage of Manhattan. He was the only person so far to die from covid-19 whom President Trump called a friend. A leading figure in New York’s Syrian Jewish community, Chera owned large swaths of retail space on Fifth Avenue, gave many millions to charities and was an early and generous supporter of Trump’s presidential run.

Read more about him(Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

“Adam Schlesinger took pop music writing to its classiest and most untouchable place.”

Adam Schlesinger, 52, co-founded the rock band Fountains of Wayne and racked up many accolades for his music over the years, including Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for writing the title track to the 1996 comedy “That Thing You Do!” and a Grammy nomination in 2003 for the band’s tongue-in-cheek “Stacy’s Mom.”

Bennie Adkins, 86, received the Medal of Honor in 2014, 48 years after close-combat fighting in Vietnam. A farmer’s son eager to see the world outside Oklahoma, he had volunteered for Army Special Forces training and found himself in a harrowing firefight in the steep hills of the A Shau Valley.

“His solos are full of secrets.”

Lee Konitz, 92, was an alto saxophonist who was an innovative figure in jazz for more than 70 years. He was the last surviving member of the groundbreaking “Birth of the Cool” group of the 1940s, with Miles Davis.

“George Valentine epitomized what it is to be a dedicated public servant.”

George Valentine, 66, was a longtime lawyer in the D.C. Attorney General’s Office who later worked as a legal adviser to the mayor. A Harvard Law graduate, he mentored young lawyers and served as a foster parent.

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Jason Hargrove, 50, was a city bus driver with the Detroit Department of Transportation who took to Facebook in late March to warn others of the virus. A woman had boarded his bus and coughed several times. “This is real,” he said in a video. “For us to get through this and get over this, man, y’all need to take this s— serious.” He died a week and a half later.

Bucky Pizzarelli, 94, was one of the nation’s preeminent seven-string guitarists. He began his career as a coveted sideman and studio musician before forming an acclaimed jazz duo with one of his sons.

Read more about him(Jeff Barnett-Winsby)

“He was probably our most impassioned advocate of architecture as a means toward social justice.”

Michael Sorkin, 71, was a fiery champion of social justice and sustainability in architecture and urban planning. He emerged as one of his profession’s most incisive public intellectuals over a multifaceted career as a critic, author, teacher and designer. Sorkin was an architectural gadfly, known for biting attacks on structures that he deemed pretentious or lacking in social purpose.

Read more about him(Lucian Perkins/The Washington Post)

David C. Driskell, 88, was an artist, art historian, art collector, art teacher, author and curator who became an influential champion of African American art. His painting “Behold Thy Son,” depicting the mutilated corpse of Emmett Till, was called a “modern-day Pietà.”

“When you think of ’90s country, you think Joe Diffie.”

Joe Diffie, 61, was a Grammy-winning artist and icon of mid-90s country music, whose hits included “Honky Tonk Attitude,” “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die),” “Home” and “Pickup Man.” He inspired the careers of younger singers, who named-checked him in their music and introduced his work to a new generation of fans.

Read more about him from Style Read more about him from Opinion(Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)

Patricia Bosworth, 86, was an actress turned journalist and acclaimed author of biographical studies of self-destructive figures, including members of her own family.

“He was a kind, groundbreaking chef who paved the way for so many South Asians.”

Floyd Cardoz, 59, was an influential India-born chef and restaurateur who was widely credited with introducing the flavors of his homeland to New York’s fine-dining scene in the 1990s. He won multiple James Beard Awards and Season 3 of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters.”

Read more about him(Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Terrence McNally, 81, was a prolific, much-honored playwright who rose to the forefront of American theater with a humane and lyrical style in works such as “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and “Master Class.” McNally was a pivotal American dramatist, particularly as art and politics collided during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s.

Read more about him(Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)

Henry Grimes, 84, was one of the most promising jazz bass players of the 1950s and 1960s, working with superstars and appearing on more than 50 recordings. Then he disappeared for more than 30 years, only to make a triumphant return to music after the year 2000.

“She could teach a rock to read.”

Susan Rokus, 73, was a teacher for 55 years. Former students spoke of her lasting influence, friends spoke of her loyalty and love of Italian food, and colleagues spoke of her colorful outfits and distinctive decor — especially the leopard-print chair, shaped like a stiletto, that she kept in her classroom.

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Text composed by Derek Hawkins and Katie Mettler. Edited by Ann Gerhart and Herman Wong. Photo editing by Nick Kirkpatrick and Karly Domb Sadof. Videos produced by Allie Caren and Adriana Usero. Copy editing by Emily Codik. Design and development by Tyler Remmel.

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real people