Editor’s note: This story is No. 5 in a series looking at the top 10 stories of 2020 for the Sun Journal, counting down from 10 to 1 from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.
Craven County Commission Johnnie Sampson, an icon in the black community for most of his 87 years, died at home Nov. 5 after a month-long battle with pneumonia and COVID-19.
His daughter Betty confirmed that “It was peaceful.”
After being hospitalized three times since early October, she said he had returned home on Sampson Street one last time on Sunday, Nov. 1. That was four Sundays since he and wife Ethel both became sick and was admitted to CarolinaEast Medical Center. Ethel came home a week later and has since been recovering.