As cases of COVID-19 began to explode in mid-March, Americans quickly experienced a tragic twist to the virus. Families and friends found themselves separated from hospitalized loved ones as death rates soared early on in places like New York City and northern New Jersey. While trying to navigate an increasingly unstable reality, communities mourned from a distance. Funerals now included masks and social distancing while limiting the number of people able to celebrate the lives of their loved ones.
The ways Americans mourned their dead changed. Even highly publicized funerals for Rep. John Lewis and George Floyd looked different. Pallbearers wore masks and gloves. Mourners distanced themselves from others in church pews.
LEFT: Mourners say their farewells to David McAtee at Canaan Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 13. RIGHT: Photographs of Rick Long throughout his life are passed to the funeral director before the start of visitation April 25 in Louisville, Kentucky. Long died of COVID-19; his widow, Brenda Long, also became infected, which delayed her husband’s funeral. Finally, Long’s family and friends were able to say farewell. LEFT: Mourners say their farewells to David McAtee at Canaan Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 13. RIGHT: Photographs of Rick Long throughout his life are passed to the funeral director before the start of visitation April 25 in Louisville, Kentucky. Long died of COVID-19; his widow, Brenda Long, also became infected, which delayed her husband’s funeral. Finally, Long’s family and friends were able to say farewell. LEFT: Mourners say their farewells to David McAtee at Canaan Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 13. RIGHT: Photographs of Rick Long throughout his life are passed to the funeral director before the start of visitation April 25 in Louisville, Kentucky. Long died of COVID-19; his widow, Brenda Long, also became infected, which delayed her husband’s funeral. Finally, Long’s family and friends were able to say farewell. Pat McDonogh, Louisville Courier Journal; ALTON STRUPP, LOUISVILLE COURIER JOURNAL
The funeral of Rep. John Lewis was iconic in Washington, D.C., as the first Black lawmaker to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. …This funeral would be much different. Because of restrictions put in place by congressional leadership, positions usually allowed and in place for these events were taken away at the last minute, causing photographers to scramble and work together to make things work in a situation where the space was limited and socially distanced.
Vivian Johnson unwraps a casket May 6 at Madonna Multinational Home for Funerals in Passaic, New Jersey. Funeral homes in New Jersey and New York were overwhelmed in the early weeks of the pandemic.Amy Newman,North Jersey Record
To accommodate families looking to say their final good-byes to loved ones … employees at Madonna Multinational Home for Funerals worked 16-hour days, sometimes driving hours to have a body cremated when the weeks-long wait in Northern New Jersey became too much and storage became an issue of those who had died of COVID-19. While many funeral homes refused to embalm bodies out of fear of spreading the virus, Madonna’s felt it imperative that mourning families be able to say a proper good-bye to loved ones.
Months later, death tolls continue to rise. The U.S. hit a staggering 150,000 COVID-19-related deaths on July 29. The nation’s deadliest day since mid-May came on Aug. 13. The logistics of handling those deaths posed a challenge for funeral homes, and new processes were put into place to protect mourners and funeral home employees. Those challenges added yet another layer of isolation as communities mourned.
TOP:Kristin Uquiza, right, and her partner, Christine Keeves, watch from a distance as the casket of Kristin’s father, Mark Anthony Urquiza, is lowered into the ground at Holy Cross Cemetery in Avondale, Arizona, on July 8. Urquiza, 65, died June 30 of COVID-19. Safety protocols did not allow for the family to stay after the burial service. BOTTOM: Monique Latimer, owner of Millard E. Latimer & Son Funeral Directors, goes over paperwork with Kathy Bones on June 26 after Bones lost her 94-year-old father to COVID-19. Latimer works with clients through a closed window, using cellphones to speak. TOP:Kristin Uquiza, right, and her partner, Christine Keeves, watch from a distance as the casket of Kristin’s father, Mark Anthony Urquiza, is lowered into the ground at Holy Cross Cemetery in Avondale, Arizona, on July 8. Urquiza, 65, died June 30 of COVID-19. Safety protocols did not allow for the family to stay after the burial service. BOTTOM: Monique Latimer, owner of Millard E. Latimer & Son Funeral Directors, goes over paperwork with Kathy Bones on June 26 after Bones lost her 94-year-old father to COVID-19. Latimer works with clients through a closed window, using cellphones to speak. LEFT: Kristin Uquiza, right, and her partner, Christine Keeves, watch from a distance as the casket of Kristin’s father, Mark Anthony Urquiza, is lowered into the ground at Holy Cross Cemetery in Avondale, Arizona, on July 8. Urquiza, 65, died June 30 of COVID-19. Safety protocols did not allow for the family to stay after the burial service. RIGHT: Monique Latimer, owner of Millard E. Latimer & Son Funeral Directors, goes over paperwork with Kathy Bones on June 26 after Bones lost her 94-year-old father to COVID-19. Latimer works with clients through a closed window, using cellphones to speak. DAVID WALLACE, ARIZONA REPUBLIC; JAMIE GERMANO, ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
