Stolen by COVID: As Spokane passes 500 deaths, we look at a few of the lives lost to the pandemic
Sun., Jan. 31, 2021
LED panel lights shine bright on the U.S. Pavilion in Riverfront Park, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Mothers and fathers. Grandpas and grandmas. Teachers and bus drivers, choir soloists and boiler room engineers, dental assistants and plumbers.
The people who have succumbed to COVID-19 have come from all corners of the community. Over the course of a year, the pandemic has taken more than 500 lives in Spokane County and almost 250 in North Idaho. Nationwide, well over 400,000 have perished, and the global toll is more than 2 million.
The numbers are numbingly impersonal. But every passing leaves an irreplaceable void in a family, a neighborhood, a workplace, a community. In the words of one Spokane woman who lost her father-in-law: “COVID steals people.”
Today, we remember some of those people, and the lives they led.
Local journalism is essential.
Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds.
Subscribe now to get breaking news alerts in your email inbox
Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens.
