This obituary is part of “We Will Remember,” a series about those we’ve lost to the coronavirus.
Willie Stokes of Detroit was an active man who dedicated his spare time to helping to maintain abandoned houses and vacant lots on his street.
Stokes, 76, died Dec. 15 at Henry Ford Hospital as a result of complications from COVID-19.
Born in Durant, Mississippi, he later moved to Battle Creek and then to Detroit, where he graduated from Eastern High School. He retired from General Motors after more than 40 years.
“He did not believe in missing work or neglecting his duties,” said his son Corey Stokes. “He always said that a working man’s job is never done, and he lived that.”