Names behind week of Cook County coronavirus deaths as nation passes 500,000 dead

President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, hold a moment of silence and a candelight ceremony in honor of those who lost their lives to the coronavirus on Monday. — President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, hold a moment of silence and a candelight ceremony in honor of those who lost their lives to the coronavirus on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday. Biden called the milestone of more than 500,000 US deaths from Covid-19 “heartbreaking.”

On the same day the United States passed the half million mark in COVID-19 deaths, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office released its weekly list of local victims.

I don’t scour the list looking for stories every week the way I once did.

But if you want to understand the scope of the pandemic’s toll, the list of the dead is a good starting point.

The medical examiner reported there were an additional 107 COVID-related deaths in Cook County last week, the lowest tally since last October.

For today, all I’m going to do is list them. For most of the winter, I wouldn’t have been able to even do that much because there were so many.

If you read through the list, I think you’ll see what I’ve seen: that COVID has reached into every corner of the county and touched every group.

My coding is simple: M for male, F for female. W for white, B for Black, H for Hispanic, A for Asian, and O for other. Hometowns listed where available.

Marjorie Blake, 77, FB, Chicago; Catherine Roberts, 61, FW, Buffalo Grove; Willie Bond, 64, MB, not listed; Theodore C. Roos, 100, MW, Northbrook; Augusto Barrera, 76, MH, Melrose Park.

Mohammad Samara, 79, MO, Oak Lawn; Carl Malik, 75, MW, Monee; Dimitrios Hatzigiannis, 83, MW, Niles; Gualberto Lopez, 81, MH, Niles; Steffi Augustyniak, 94, FW. Chicago; Kristof Switepki, 65, MW, Chicago.

Johnny Bonner, 77, MB, Chicago; Kevin Davis, 63, MW, Chicago Heights; Stanley Koszewski, 76, MW, Elk Grove Village; Louis Orlandini, 87, MW, Northbrook; Edward Correa, 89, MW, Chicago; Crispina Ramos, 71, FH, Chicago; Michael Kelly, 84, MW, not listed.

Ramon Grenee, 79, MB, Chicago; Larry Stefanik, 83, MW, Northlake; Raul Lopez Castillo, 68, MH, Carpentersville; Regina Wojcik, 89, FW, Chicago; Jose Perez Patino, 78, MH, Des Plaines; Giraldo Bordabeheres, 89, MH, Chicago; William Earner, 62, MW, Crestwood.

Michael Boler, 65, MB, Chicago; Juan Aleman, 41, MH, Hanover Park; James Busch, 78, MW, Oak Lawn; Julie Kokotovic, 75, FW, Chicago; Antonio Cabrera, 74, FH, Chicago; Thomas Spychalski, 72, MW, Oak Lawn; Judy Wrublik, 75, FW, Bartlett; Mario Ruiz, 83, MW, Cicero.

Marcus Connor, 70, MB, South Holland; Vernon Crabtree, 87, MW, Creal Springs, IL; Peter Cucuz, 75, MW, Chicago; Isaih Lewis, 88, MB, Phoenix; Pedro Montano, 79, MH, Chicago; Jeffery Thrasher, 63, MB, not listed.

A florist demonstrates how to make floral arrangement for a funeral, amid the coronavirus pandemic at a floral shop in Arlington, Virginia on Monday.

Janeen Ross, 85, FW, Hoffman Estates; Maribel Rivera, 63, FH, Northbrook; Augusto Barrera, 76, MH, Northlake; Mary A. Dapkus, 71, FW, not listed; Freeman E. Cramar, 85, MW, not listed.

James Martin, 64, MW, Chicago; Rosendo Bautista, 60, MW, not listed; Angela Thomas, 53, FB, Chicago; Gerald Javior, 85, MW, Palos Heights; Charles Karavidas, 89, MW, Arlington Heights.

Sonya Perez, 71, FH, Chicago Ridge; Kenneth Scales, 62, MB, not listed; Pedro Salanaca, 72, MH, Cicero; Timkur Subbaraju, 76, MO, Arlington Heights; Robert M. Valach, 84, MW, not listed; Israel Dominguez, 47, MH, Chicago.

Berj Gueyikian, 85, MW, not listed; Ronald Marchetti, 77, MW, Chicago; Dennis Martin, 67, MW, Arlington Heights; Yasir Khan, 43, MA, Palatine; Richard S. Barthelt, 71, MW, not listed; Candace White, 63, FB, Chicago; Adelaido Sanchez, 74, MH, Blue Island.

Donald Bekelski, 76, MW, Elk Grove Village; Denzial L. Bond, 69, MB, Country Club Hills; Leon Simpson, 85, MB, Chicago; Thomas Campbell, 90, MW, Prospect Heights; Zenonia Masnica, 74, FW, Chicago; Vilennia Oganova, 93, FW, Chicago.

Bertha Grayer, 93, FB, Chicago; Tenner Ferguson, 98, FB, Maywood; Teresa E. Licata, 87, FW, Lemont; Lee E. Caridine, 72, FB, Chicago; Jose Mendoza, 66, MH, Chicago; Geraldine Mager, 72, FW, Elk Grove Village; Donna Schisley, 65, FW, not listed.

Clyde Christion, 71, MB, Chicago; James Kuczora, 84, MW, Arlington Heights; Celestine Warren, 82, FB, not listed; Dennis Turskey, 79, MW, Deerfield; Alla M. Stewart, 91, FB, Chicago; James Polk Jr., 72, MB, Chicago.

Tashana H. Barlow, 44, FB, not listed; Wilson Robles, 72, MH, Chicago; Richard C. Gabriel, 72, MH, Chicago; Sylvester Broom, 72, MB, Chicago; Mingchang Wang, 75, MA, Chicago; Robert Tsioles, 40, MW, Naperville.

Larry Pretzman, 73, MW, Ingleside; Socorro Benitez, 70, FH, Chicago; Dale Robinson, 60, MB, Burbank; Stanislaw L. Pietras, 77, MW, Chicago; Mabel L. McCurty, 69, FB, Burbank; Ronald Walton, 63, MB, Calumet City.

Cynetha Johnson, 68, FB, not listed; Charles Tate, 71, MB, Chicago; Severine Flores, 71, FH, Chicago; Victor Bowhlman, 96, MW, Wilmette; Aureliano Andrade, 57, MH, Chicago.

Please consider that there is an untold personal story behind every name on that list, and the list comes out week after week.

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Behind growing number of coronavirus deaths are names, and behind each name, a story — and a heartache

If you want to understand the scope of the pandemic’s toll, the list of the dead is a good starting point. If you read through the list, I think you’ll see what I’ve seen: that COVID has reached into every corner of the county and touched every group.