Relatives pay tribute to the loved ones they have lost in the coronavirus pandemic
This article titled “Parents, grandparents, boxers, singers: the care home residents who have died from Covid-19” was written by Amy Walker, for The Guardian on Tuesday 12th May 2020 21.06 UTCBefore they were care home residents, they were our factory workers, teachers, engineers and administrative workers.
Some were singers, and some were boxers. Some were parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. Now they have died after contracting coronavirus in their homes.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that between 10 and 24 April, there were 4,343 recorded deaths from Covid-19 in residential care homes. Meanwhile, frustration among operators, staff and relatives that the government has underestimated the seriousness of the spread of the virus in care continues to grow.
Here are the stories of some of those who have died.
Pete Carney, 77
Location: Hartshill, Staffordshire
Date of death: 2 May 2020
Carney, who lived at the Belong care home in Newcastle-under-Lyme and had Alzheimer’s disease, first became ill with the virus in mid-April. His condition rapidly deteriorated and he was admitted to Royal Stoke university hospital on 22 April. It was the last time his daughter, who was by his side in the ambulance and casualty, would see him. He died on Saturday 2 May.
Ruth Carney, 43, a television and theatre director, said her father was an inspirational figure for many. “He was a union man and believed in people being treated fairly. His drive and ambition is where I got mine from.”
She added: “My next door neighbour was a builder and he got in touch and said, ‘the reason I went to university is because of your dad, he made me believe I could’.”
Carney also leaves behind his wife of 54 years, Kath.
Margaret Parkes, 94
Location: Didsbury, Greater Manchester
Date of death: 29 April 2020
Parkes, who grew up in Wigan and was the middle child of five, died on 29 April shortly after contracting the coronavirus.
She trained as a junior nurse at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, nursing the troops during the later years of the second world war. She received a Florence Nightingale scholarship to travel to the US, researching mental health and social care in Washington and New York in the 1980s.
Mark Thomas, a 43-year-old filmmaker and lecturer, described his great aunt as the life and soul of any social occasion. “Margaret’s energy enthused everyone around her. Fatima, Marina and the team of carers who supported Margaret while she was at home always stressed how important she was in their lives and she also cared and supported them at times.”
Margaret has met the Queen twice, once as a nurse and as an NHS governor. “In my mind, they were two peas in a pod. Despite hailing from Wigan, Margaret always spoke the Queen’s English and I always imagine they would have got on like a house on fire over a game of Bridge,” Thomas said.
The lockdown had triggered a wartime spirit, Thomas added. “She was always one for a challenge, having faced world war two, being a midwife in 50s rural Scotland, the polio epidemic, 80s New York and countless other major and minor events.”
Beryl Wood, 89
Location: Style, Chesire
Date of death: 11 April 2020
Wood, described as a talented woman who excelled at crafts, died at Eden Mansions in Styal, Cheshire shortly after contracting the coronavirus.
Born in 1930, the war was still fresh in her memory, her son-in-law Richard Panter said. She was widowed young and brought up two daughters, Kathryn and Alison, on her own whilst pursuing a successful career as a primary school teacher and head. “She absolutely loved children and being a grandparent was a role she fulfilled to a prize-winning standard,” Panter said.
Due to the lockdown, the family hadn’t been able to visit Wood for five weeks before she died. “Her funeral, constrained as it was by the restrictions, was a thing of simple beauty,” Panter added. Those in attendance were her two daughters and their families, including her four grandchildren. “It had a wonderful peaceful quality, in contrast to the maelstrom outside and we were all so grateful to be able to say goodbye. She would have really enjoyed it.”
Hilda Churchill, 108
Location: Salford, Greater Manchester
Date of death: 28 March 2020
Churchill, who had lived through two world wars and the Spanish flu pandemic, passed away at Kenyon Lodge care home in Little Hulton four days after first showing symptoms of the virus.
Although she tested positive for Covid-19 the day before her death, her family hoped she would pull through to celebrate her 109th birthday on 5 April.
Born in 1911 in Crewe, Churchill worked as a seamstress and had moved to Salford with her husband during the economic depression in the 1930s to find work. Together they had four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Her grandson Anthony Churchill, 49, told the Manchester Evening News she would be greatly missed by her family. “She did so much for us,” he said. “We were always with her on weekends as kids.”
He added: “She would always have a pinny on and she’d be baking. She was very loving. She couldn’t do enough for people.”
Rod Prole, 88
Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Date of death: 16 April 2020
The Arsenal fan, affectionately known as “Rodders” to his family, died at Sandfields care home, only a day after his family became aware that he “wasn’t his usual self”.
He was born in Stanton, where his father was an RAC patrolman and his mum ran the local Post Office from inside their home. He had three sisters, two of whom are still living.
Rod married Monica Holmes, and the couple moved to Cheltenham where he worked as a maintenance engineer for Walker Crosweller for over 45 years. They had four daughters – Debbie, Tracy, Tina and Jo – as well as seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He followed horse racing closely, still picking out winners from newspapers as he developed dementia, and played cricket for both Stanton and Cheltenham Cavaliers. “He could always be found wearing his Arsenal baseball caps with pride – he was a true Gooner!” added his daughter Tracy Adams.
When his wife died two years ago, his family made the difficult decision to place him in a home. Sandfields went into lockdown at the start of the coronavirus crisis, meaning his family were only able to speak to him over Skype chats.
Although Adams spoke to him the night before his death, there didn’t seem be anything “serious to be concerned about”.
“However, the next morning we received a phone call and Tina could hear in the background he was in distress, calling for ‘his girls’, and within a very short period of time, he had passed away.”
The family, who do not believe Rod was tested for coronavirus, were only informed a week later that Covid-19 had been given as his cause of death. Although Adams said they felt care home residents had been “severely let down”, she praised the staff who looked after her dad for their efforts.
“He was warm, generous and honest. We are heartbroken and miss him very much. Not least, not being able to be with him at the end, hold his hand and say goodbye,” she added.
Ian Gardiner, 83
Location: Ashford, Kent
Date of death: 6 April 2020
Originally from Dunbar in Scotland, the former soldier and police officer moved to Surrey 44 years ago where he met his wife Kathy Gardiner at a dance.
“He was a very tall and attractive man, but more than that he was a lovely gentleman,” she recalled to KentOnline. “He asked me for a dance, and afterwards he took my hand in his and thanked me. I thought: ‘Oh come on and ask for my number!’, and in the end I think I put it in his top pocket.”
The couple moved to Hythe and then Dymchurch in Kent, where Gardiner often looked after their granddaughter while Kathy and her daughter worked full-time. “He absolutely doted on her. He always used to call her ‘the wee one’ in that lovely Scottish way of his, and still did until the day he died,” said Kathy, a former palliative nurse.
He spent the last two years of his life living at Warren Lodge care home in Ashford after his health deteriorated. Although his wife visited him daily before the coronavirus crisis, she wasn’t able to see him for two weeks before his death because of the lockdown.
When he became ill with suspected coronavirus, Kathy said she fought “tooth and nail to try and get him home” but was unsuccessful in her attempts. “They just wouldn’t tell me either way, I asked them if he was at the end of his life and one minute they said yes and the next minute they said no,” she said.
“They held the phone up to him and I could hear him struggling for breath and I just knew. Later that night he died. If they had just given it to me straight then it would have made it easier.”
Ivy Mary Pitman, 97
Location: Reading, Berkshire
Date of death: 12 March 2020
The youngest of six children, Pitman – nee Bartlett – worked in a ballbearing factory during the second world war and was an air raid patrol warden. “She was fond of recalling how at 16, she would tell people to put the lights out and they’d do it,” said her son Bob Pitman.
She married George Pitman in 1948 while he was serving in the Royal Navy, and after a few years of relocating around the UK for his work, they settled in Reading. They had two children, and two grandchildren.
Pitman, who had a “bubbly personality” worked as both a home help for people who were ill and new mums, and as a salesperson in a clothes store. She loved celebrations, including family weddings and graduations – “any excuse to put on a good frock and have a sing and dance,” said Bob Pitman. “She enjoyed life and her easy smile could light the world around her.”
When her husband died, “she picked herself up” from her grief, and would take daytrips in her car to visit her son and daughter, and holidayed abroad with friends and family. “She grew into herself and enjoyed life,” added her son.
Although age caught up with her, affecting her ability to both drive and walk, as well as her memory and hearing, she retained good relationships with neighbours and her church group.
Last year, she moved into a care home but was determined to make it to 100. In late February, she began experiencing symptoms associated with coronavirus – including a cough, breathing difficulties and lack of appetite.
Her family were able to visit on the day she died, holding her hand as she passed away. “It was an effort too far for mum and her last words to us were: ‘love you, love you, love you’ with a smile,” said Bob.
Helen Mary Sanders, 93
Location: Anerley, South London
Date of death: 3 May 2020
“Outgoing, eccentric and optimistic” Sanders was born in Blackheath, south London, but grew up in Hove after being evacuated to Somerset with her mother and two sisters during the war.
She left school early, and moved back to London in the 1950s, where she found work in coffee bars on Brompton Road. Then, after becoming a single mother to Anya Louize in the 1960s, took up live-in housekeeping and caring jobs which she would take her daughter along to. They moved 13 times, but eventually were given a council flat in a tower block in Swiss Cottage in the 1970s.
“Despite being homeless several times, she shielded me from any despair she must have felt and made everything into a magical adventure,” said Louize. “I still have a paper Christmas tree she drew and pinned up when we couldn’t afford a tree.”
In later life, Sanders, who dreamt of becoming a singer or a dancer, became an usherette in theatres and cinemas so she could watch the shows for free. She also sold collectables and bric-a-brac at the Portobello and Covent Garden markets, and resided in Belsize Park, where she could often be spotted in cafes in a pink or blue beret, talking to everyone.
Into her 70s and 80s, she would trek across London to visit her “adored” three grandchildren, laden with gifts for everyone despite living hand to mouth. But when she could no longer manage at home after developing dementia, and needed 24-hour care, she moved to a care home close to her daughter’s house.
“I took her out regularly but the carers told me she called for me every day, which was heartbreaking – my sense of guilt was immense,” said Louize.
“I finally managed to get in and see her towards the end to say goodbye – I really appreciate it as so many have been unable to see their own loved ones. I am so grateful to the amazing staff who cared for her with such compassion and were so kind to me on the phone.”
The family have opted for a direct cremation while restrictions are in place on funerals during the pandemic, but plan to scatter her ashes out to sea in Brighton, where she loved to swim. Louize said: “When the time is right, we will have a celebration of her life with friends and family – all who knew her are welcome!”
Jacqueline Varley, 80
Location: Bingham, Nottingham
Date of death: 16 April 2020
Varley, who had been in a care home for people with dementia, grew up in “absolute poverty” as the youngest of four sisters in a terraced house in Hyson Green in Nottingham.
She left school at 14, before going on to work in various PA roles, including for a director at Boots’ head office in Beeston.
Outside of work, her main source of pride was being a mother. “She was a fantastic mum,” said her daughter Karen Standard. “When I was little she was like the pied piper. Kids who lived on the same street as us would constantly be round the house because she would constantly have a table with crafts out on it.”
It was only when Standard’s dad, Ken, died in January 2015, that she realised how unwell her mother was. A couple of months later, Varley moved into Beauvale care home in Bingham, where she would still regularly receive visits from Standard, her husband, David, and their sons Charlie, 11, and Archie, 7.
For much of the last five years, Varley remained fit and active despite her deteriorating mental health. “She’d be setting the table, doing the laundry with the carers – she thought she was there as a carer for the other residents,” said Standard.
In mid-March, the home went into lockdown, although relatives were still able to keep in touch via Zoom meetings. Varley became ill in early April after two residents had tested positive for the virus.
“I was under no illusion. She was 80, she had dementia, she’d not got that long. But she was still pretty well,” said Standard. Before Varley died on 16 April, the home told Standard it would provide her with PPE so she could see her mother, but she did not make it in time. “It was absolutely heart-rending,” she said.
Now, Varley’s family feel they are in “limbo”, having opted for a direct cremation rather than a physically distanced funeral. But they hope to host a celebration of her life after lockdown where they will play recordings from the 1950s of her singing choral music. “She had this beautiful soprano voice. The records are crackly, but we’re hoping to get them transferred,” said Standard.
Jacques Kirk, 98
Location: St Albans, Hertfordshire
Date of death: 6 April 2020
Kirk, who was born in Australia in 1922 to an English father and French mother, was brought up in France from the age of two until the start of the second world war when his family fled to the UK.
Although he was “self-effacing”, he went on to have a successful career in engineering despite not having a university education – starting with working at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in Farnborough during the war. He later helped to test planes in wind tunnels in Belfast and Hertfordshire, before becoming the UK lead at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse.
He married Mary, after meeting her at RAE, and they had two sons, Chris and David. They had six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Kirk, who received an OBE for his work, retired in 1995, and returned to the UK from France in 2000. He was involved with his local church, with youth work and with a Rotary club.
After Mary died, he moved into Grace Muriel House in St Albans. He was still able-bodied and active. “He thought it was the sensible thing to do, as a 92-year-old,” said Chris Kirk, 68.
Chris last saw his dad a month before he died, but they had spoken on the phone via the help of carers. He became ill three days before he died. “When they told me I was obviously upset but not hugely surprised,” Chris said, adding that the staff in the home were unable to access full PPE.
“I spoke to him by video on the day that he died. He was completely with us and sentient and able to chat. I suppose I’m very grateful that he could go quickly and not slowly.”
The family have opted for a direct cremation, but hope to host a celebration of Kirk’s life in the coming months when they are able to gather together.
Edna Smith, 86
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire
Date of death: 23 April 2020
Smith, who was in the late stages of dementia and had chest infections, died on Thursday 23 April at Linden House in Blackburn after contracting coronavirus.
Her granddaughter Tracey Merrett told the Lancashire Telegraph: “We were told she was not well on Sunday, and on Monday she was OK, but by Tuesday she was in a bad state.
“On Wednesday I got a phone call from the doctor that her breathing was very shallow and that she would not live long.”
Merrett’s son Nathan was allowed to visit Smith at the care home before her death, where he called members of their family so that they could say goodbye.
After her grandmother died, Merrett started a campaign to donate radios to the care home.
Peggy Grainger, 86
Location: Peterborough
Date of death: 13 April 2020
Grainger, who also had dementia, died at Philia Lodge care home in Peterborough on Monday 13 April after suffering with coronavirus symptoms.
Her granddaughter Gemma wrote a goodbye letter to her, which was read aloud at her bedside by care worker Laura Dunn-Green.
ITV reported that the letter read: “For now, Grandma, this is goodbye, but I know that you will be with us in our hearts that you have helped make so full of love and happy memories for us to treasure forever.”
She also asked her to send the family’s love to their grandfather, but told her: “We know he has been waiting for you but don’t let him start ordering you around, it’s your turn for him to wait on you.”
Charlie Beattie, 82
Location: Birmingham
Date of death: 23 April 2020
The former secondary school teacher, who had been married to his childhood sweetheart, Jean, for 62 years, died at Ridings care home in Castle Vale after returning from a week in Heartlands hospital.
The couple, who had four children, five grandchildren and five great-grandsons between them, decided Charlie should move into a care home two years ago after his dementia led to him needing round-the-clock care.
He had enjoyed photography and winter trips to Portugal until his illness began to affect his daily life, particularly after the death of their son to bowel cancer in 2010.
Beattie was admitted to hospital after a fall at the care home but it soon became clear he was also struggling with coronavirus symptoms, and he tested positive for Covid-19.
When it became clear that he would not survive, the hospital allowed him to be discharged. “They had done all they could at the hospital but Charlie was just not going to make it,” Jean Beattie told BirminghamLive. “All we had hoped was that he did not die in hospital, surrounded by strangers, and we got our wish, so we are grateful for that.”
Anthony Slack, 85
Location: Tameside, Greater Manchester
The former grants officer and lifelong Labour member had spent several days isolating with symptoms of the virus at a care home in Tameside before his condition deteriorated.
Over Easter weekend, he was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and given oxygen, but died the following day. His death was recorded as being caused by both pneumonia and Covid-19.
Slack’s family have not been able to tell his wife of 64 years, June, who has dementia and had been living in the same care home, about his death. His daughter Sharon Slack, 61, expressed her disappointment that he had not been tested for the disease during the time he was isolating.
“At the very start of this back in March, the government said we need to look after the most vulnerable people in our society,” Slack told the Manchester Evening News. “But they have not delivered on that promise, because the most vulnerable people are those in care homes.”
Johnny Howard, 85
Location: Islington, London
Date of death: 4 April 2020
The former boxing champion died in April at Highbury New Park care home in north London after contracting coronavirus.
Howard grew up in Holloway, and was briefly evacuated to Leicestershire during the second world war. He joined the army for two years when he turned 18 as part of the national service, but it was not until he returned that his boxing career took off.
He became the southern area featherweight champion and one point ranked third in Britain. In 1959, he married Freda Hicks, with whom he had two sons – Anthony and Lee – and eight grandchildren.
Remembering his father, Anthony Howard told the Islington Tribune: “I couldn’t have asked for a better dad to be honest, as a kid or an adult. Whatever we wanted he would help.
“He said his proudest moments were when we were born. He was a great grandfather.”
Dennis Ely, 82
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk
Date of death: 10 April 2020
Ely, described as a “beautiful person inside and out” by his daughter, developed coronavirus symptoms in early April at Asterbury Place care home. He was later admitted to Ipswich hospital where he died on Good Friday, two days after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Elvis fan had lived in Ipswich all his life, and had worked as a printer before retirement. He came from a big family. He had suffered from mental health issues for the last 15 years which led to him moving into the care home, but had enjoyed regular trips out to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
His daughter Lisa Hovell has since criticised a lack of communication from the care home. She told the Ipswich Star: “He was obviously very unwell for a good few days before he went to hospital but they didn’t let me know.”
She added that he had had limited contact with other residents. “He was quite a solitary person, only really feeling comfortable with his family. He will be missed by so many people.”
Suzanne Davies, 71
Location: Yardley Wood, Birmingham
Date of death: 18 April 2020
Davies, a resident at Bramley Court care home for two years, became ill two days before her death with a high temperature.
Her widower, Tony Davies, 74, who still lives at their family home, said he was at a loss to explain her sudden death and felt that a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing from the government meant care homes were struggling to keep residents safe.
“The care homes have been abandoned and forgotten, as if the lives in there don’t matter as much. All the focus was on the NHS only, not on care homes where old people live,” he told BirminghamLive.
He described his wife as “wonderful”, adding: “When she was well, she did everything. I just can’t get over that I didn’t get to say goodbye or be with her, after 52 years of marriage. It’s so cruel.”
The couple had two sons, and before a series of health challenges that led to her needing residential care, Suzanne had been an active member of the community, chairing Shirley Flower Club.
Isobel Muriel Hick, 89
Location: Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Date of death: 25 April 2020
Hick, who grew up on a farm in a village called Little Baruch near Scarborough, worked as a private secretary before retirement. She married Joseph Alfred Hick, known as Alf, and was very close to her nieces and nephews.
“She loved family visits from all of us and enjoyed seeing the children in particular,” said her great-niece Kathryn Smith, who added that she would be much missed by her family.
“She was fantastically independent and gifted at arts and crafts,” she added. Hick made wedding dresses and Holy Communion dresses for her family members, as well as decorating the odd wedding cake. Even after she had a stroke, which led to her being paralysed on one side, she continued to go on cruises with her friends.
Seven years ago, Hick developed dementia and had been living in the Holt nursing home in Scarborough when she passed away after contracting Covid-19.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.