More than 340,000 people died from COVID-19 in the United States in 2020, and as of Friday the number of people infected with the virus had surpassed 20 million. As we begin a New Year, we honor just five of those who we have lost to the coronavirus.
Read the Full Transcript
Judy Woodruff:
We begin a new year, as we did every Friday as we left the last one, paying tribute to five extraordinary Americans who ve lost their lives to COVID-19.
Adalberto Cavazos and his wife fell in love through letters exchanged while he was stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army. They spent more than a half-century together, settling in Fresno, California. While serving abroad, he lost his hearing, but still worked as a foreman until he was 70. Humble and hardworking, family was his world.
Former Standing Rock tribal chairman dies of COVID-19 bismarcktribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bismarcktribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Former Standing Rock tribal chairman dies of COVID-19
by The Associated Press
Last Updated Dec 18, 2020 at 10:14 am EDT
FORT YATES, N.D. The former chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has died after contracting COVID-19, about a month after his wife passed away from the coronavirus, his family said.
Jesse “Jay” Taken Alive, 65, was hospitalized in late October and died Monday, according to his brother, Virgil Taken Alive. His wife, Cheryl Taken Alive, 64, died Nov. 11, according to an obituary.
Jesse Taken Alive taught Lakota culture and language at a school in his hometown of McLaughlin, South Dakota, until he became ill, his brother said. The students called him “Lala Jay.” Lala is the Lakota word for grandfather.
Former Standing Rock tribal chairman dies of COVID 19 - The Turtle Island News theturtleislandnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theturtleislandnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jesse âJayâ Taken Alive sought solace in the tepee he put up next to his house on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation when the coronavirus hit the Dakotas this past spring.
His brother Virgil recalls Jesse telling him, Thatâs the place where I go and pray because of this pandemic. I donât want it to affect us, as a people.
But the virus surged through the region this fall, and Jesse, a former tribal chairman and spiritual leader, started to feel ill. The 65-year-old was hospitalized in late October and died Monday, a little over a month after his wife, Cheryl, also passed away from COVID-19.