coronavirus deaths

Fighting COVID-19 in Iowa

Iowan describes the toll COVID-19 took on his family: an IowaWatch interview

By Lyle Muller / IowaWatch | July 10, 2020

Jose Gabriel Martinez taught his family to watch out for and care for each other. They needed that lesson when COVID-19 ripped through their Iowa family, his surviving son says in this IowaWatch interview.

Evans: No hugs and casseroles make this more difficult

By Randy Evans / Stray Thoughts | May 20, 2020

We always can use more humor. Even during a pandemic. At least that was my justification for a “thought” I shared with the world on social media last week. A Michigan woman posted on Twitter that she was writing a condolence card when her 5-year-old son interrupted and wanted to know what she was doing. “I’m writing a note to say how sorry I am that my friend’s mom died,” the woman replied.

Another Iowan died of COVID-19; her name was Vicki

By Cindy Hadish/Homegrown Iowan | April 3, 2020

CEDAR RAPIDS — Public officials rattle off COVID-19 statistics at daily news conferences: the number of new cases; numbers of negative tests; the number of deaths. As of Friday, April 3, 2020, a total of 11 Iowans had died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Senior photo of Vicki Snarzyk, courtesy Judy Fletcher

Vicki Snarzyk was one of those. “She was a beautiful soul who always put others first,” Judy Fletcher said of her 61-year-old sister, who died April 1 in Cedar Rapids. Fletcher, 54, of Denver, Colorado, wants everyone to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously, to understand the devastating implications and realize how easily it can hit home.