Hadley Barndollar, USA TODAY NETWORK
Published
7:42 pm UTC Mar. 16, 2021
DEB CRAM, USA TODAY NETWORK
KITTERY, Maine – At J.S. Pelkey and Son Funeral Home, the changes happened almost overnight.
The country’s first coronavirus cases had been identified and initial deaths reported. By March, inside the chapel, plastic covered the large mahogany cross and Roman-style pedestals, stretching across the carpet to the walls. Air conditioners stuffed the windows.
A space typically used for wakes and other services to celebrate life, the chapel was instead filled with the dead. There were upwards of 20 caskets.
Ordinarily filled with raw human feeling, the room had been transformed into a chilled, sterile environment.