IOWA, USA — At Local 5, we are making an effort to show you the faces and remember the Iowans who have died from the coronavirus.
Here are some of their stories.
We begin by remembering Ruth David, a holocaust survivor whose impact crossed borders.
"She won an award from the German government for her holocaust education efforts in Germany," Ruth's friend Barbara Pleasants said.
Then there's Terri Clark and coach Raymond Burgett. Iowans whose cherished friendship won't soon be forgotten.
"We'd go to a fishing cabin in Clemens, Iowa and we'd spend long weekends and fish and basically just spend time together. I'm just going to miss that," Clark's sister Sandra Carmichael said.
"He was the coach of many different sports and many different kids for many different years. He coached just about everything you could think of from boys sports to girls sports," Burgett's daughter Lynne Murphy said.
Closing things up we have Steve Edwards, an Iowa grad, accomplished lawyer and public servant.
"It really epitomizes him that he was just a wonderfully and superb lawyer but equally, and just as importantly, a wonderful human being who really tried to make the world better," Edwards' colleague/friend Bob Ottenhoff said.
"We hear a lot about the coronavirus and it's impact on people but it often seems to be something that's distant. It's for something that's over there," Edwards' colleague/friend Sascha Rand said.
I think that's all a very good reminder that this virus is not something far away but something rather that impacts our friends, neighbors and sometimes even ourselves.