The Lives Lost

On March 24, 2020, COVID-19 claimed its first recorded life in North Carolina. Since then, the pandemic has upended our communities, our families, and our lives in devastating ways. Around 12,000 North Carolinians have lost their lives in the year since. Covid deaths, we learned, are horrific and lonely and will take years to process – if ever. In the spirit of remembering the lives we've lost, we're telling eight life stories – a cross-section of our Carolina neighbors – that ended too soon due to COVID.

Portraits of North Carolinians We've Lost

Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

‘Loving, Supportive, Stubborn:’ Jane Klein Remembered For Irish Festival, Impact On Family

Celeste Gracia

More than 40% of the people who’ve passed away from COVID-19 in North Carolina lived in nursing homes or residential care facilities. Jane Klein was one of them. She died in Fayetteville on Jan. 30. She was six days away from her 68th birthday.
Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

Irving Pressley McPhail, President Of Saint Augustine’s University, Spread "Love As A Leader"

Leoneda Inge

Shortly after the start of the fall semester, Irving Pressley McPhail, 71, reported early symptoms of COVID – a headache and a fever. He served as president of Saint Augustine’s University for only a few months before he succumbed to COVID-19.
Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

Yoshi Soto Morales, First NC Child To Die From COVID-19, Lived Life To The Fullest

Cole del Charco

Aurea Yolotzin Soto Morales, known to her friends and family as Yoshi, was a fun-loving, studious girl. Born and raised in Durham, she attended second-grade at Creekside Elementary and at 8 years old, had a long list of interests.
Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

A Community Servant ‘Goes Home’: Remembering Wyvis Oxendine Sr.

Laura Pellicer

Wyvis Oxendine Sr. — or Senior as he was affectionately known — was a longtime Robeson County educator, community organizer, county commissioner and entrepreneur. He died of COVID-19 in January at age 74.
Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

Billy Bingham Died While In Prison. His Death Has Raised Questions

Jason deBruyn

Billy Richard Bingham Jr. – a son, sibling, Marine, and inmate number 0031427 - grew up in Gaston County. His simple life turned tragic in 2005 when he stabbed a man, who later died. For that, Bingham Jr. spent years at the Albemarle Correctional Institute, where his family believes he died of COVID-19 last year.
Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

Small Town, Big Loss: Spindale Loses Longtime Leader James Hamilton

Jay Price

Except for his college years, James Hamilton lived his entire life in the tiny Rutherford County town of Spindale. He couldn’t imagine making anywhere else home, said friends and family. After decades in roles including town police officer, mayor pro team and deacon of his church, many in town couldn’t imagine living without him, either. Now they are, though. Hamilton, 55, died October 14 from complications related to COVID-19.
Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

NFL Lineman Tootie Robbins Remembered As ‘Fun-Loving Guy’ By East Carolina Teammate

Mitchell Northam

A native of Windsor, North Carolina, Tootie Robbins is one of the best football players to come out of East Carolina University. He played 12 years in the NFL. Robbins died after contracting COVID-19 in August 2020.
Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

'So Bright And So Big': Remembering Teacher And Coach Jamie Seitz

Liz Schlemmer

Jamie Seitz taught physical education for 25 years, mostly at the Lincoln Charter School in Denver, North Carolina. He was a beloved coach, known for his charisma, playfulness and respect for others. He was 51 when he died of COVID-19. His family and school community have mourned his loss together.

On Grief & This Series

Natalia Polanco

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For WUNC

With Mourning Rituals Put On Hold, North Carolinians Adapt To Grieve

Laura Pellicer

Around 12,000 North Carolinians have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020, leaving countless friends and families forced to adapt to honor their loved ones. From live-streamed funerals to in-person memorials with tight attendance, for many, the rituals that traditionally guide loved ones through the process of grief have been stripped away or put on hold.
Natalie Dudas-Thomas

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WUNC

A Note On Our COVID-19 Obit Series

Elizabeth Baier

On March 24, 2020, COVID-19 claimed its first recorded life in North Carolina. Since then, the pandemic has upended our communities, our families, and our lives in devastating ways. This series aims to tell the life stories of some of those we've lost too soon.

It is hard to make space for pausing, and recognizing what we have lost, who we lost, and having an opportunity to learn the lessons that come from that. We now may be entering a period where it's more possible for us to take that pause. And courageous leaders — whether they are in faith communities, communities of color, governmental agencies, in all walks of life — have an opportunity to lead and model rituals of remembrance, as well as rituals of renewal as we find a new way of moving forward in a world that is more unpredictable than we ever imagined it could be.

Robert A. Neimeyer, clinical psychologist and Director of the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition

Credits

Reporters: Jason deBruyn, Cole del Charco, Celeste Gracia, Leoneda Inge, Jay Price, Liz Schlemmer
Digital Producers: Mitch Northam, Laura Pellicer
Social Media Producer: Natalie Dudas-Thomas
Illustrator: Natalia Polanco
Broadcast Editor: Dave DeWitt
Digital Editor: Elizabeth Baier
News Director: Brent Wolfe