FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - The statistics are staggering.
More than 11 million COVID-19 cases. More than a quarter of a million deaths. And those are just in the United States.
Here in Cumberland County, more than 8,300 COVID-19 cases have been reported since March, including more than 110 deaths. And the pandemic shows few signs of subsiding.
Behind those harrowing numbers are people and faces. Every death leaves behind a grieving family with memories to treasure.
A few of those people agreed to share their thoughts with us. Here are their stories.
ALWAYS A SMILE
His nickname was “Smiley.”
That’s because John Ashford always seemed to have a smile on his face.
“He smiled all the time,” said Ashford’s wife, Ann Ashford. “Even if it wasn’t funny.”
John Durward Ashford, 88, died May 10 of complications from COVID-19. He also suffered from underlying health conditions.
Born in Tarboro, John Ashford grew up in Scotland Neck. After high school, he attended an art school in Raleigh for two years before serving four years in the Air Force.
Ashford graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in journalism. He came to Fayetteville to work in advertising, eventually opening his own agency.
John and Ann met after Ann came to Fayetteville from Charlotte to teach. A friend fixed them up on a blind date.
One of Ann’s first hints that the two might be compatible came when she saw John’s record collection.
“He had opera, he had Frank Sinatra, he had jazz,” Ann said. “And I had a lot of the same stuff.”
The couple was married on Dec. 26, 1959. The honeymoon was held in Holden Beach, a place the two would visit many times over the years.
But that first visit was auspicious.
“Holden Beach in December was not real cheery,” Ann remembered. “Everything was closed. There was nowhere to eat.”
The couple had three children - Mike, Sally and Nick. Mike, who suffered long-term health problems, died in 2017 at age 55.
Ann Ashford said John was a devoted father who always had time for his children’s hobbies, be it camping with Mike, teaching Sally how to shoot baskets or helping out on homework projects with all three.
John loved music, theater and art, and the two were regulars at Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Cape Fear Regional Theatre performances and local art galleries. He loved going out to eat, to the point that Ann would tease him that he didn’t like her cooking.
“He really was a people person, although he spent a lot of time sitting and reading or taking a walk,” Ann said.
The couple was also involved in social causes, often through the Quaker House, where Ann attends meetings. If there was a protest against war at the Market House, it’s likely the Ashfords were there.
“I’d say, ‘There’s a demonstration tomorrow, do you mind making some signs?’ ” Ann said.
Later in life, John began having health problems. He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and suffered a fall.
During a stay in rehab, John tested positive for COVID-19. He was in the hospital for about four weeks.
When the end came, the family was unable to physically be with John because of the contagious virus. He received communion from Holy Trinity Episcopal Church over the phone, and the family visited one last time via videoconferencing.
“It was hard, but I was glad that we had that,” Ann said. “It’s not like being there holding someone’s hand.”
Ann and the family were left to treasure the memory of a man devoted to his family, his church and his community.
A man who almost always seemed to have a smile on his face.
AN ‘INVISIBLE PHILANTHROPIST’
David Bryan possessed an analytical mind. His older brother Norwood Bryan said he would painstakingly study a problem, starting with the fundamentals, until he had it figured out.
And Bryan combined that intellect with a love of music, art and a kindness toward all living things, no matter how small.
“If there was a cricket in his office, he’d slide a piece of paper under it and take it outside,” Norwood Bryan said. “I’ve seen him do that more than once.”
David Carroll Bryan died Sept. 10 in Duke University Hospital after a month-long struggle with COVID-19. He was 80.
David attended Fayetteville High School and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1962 with a degree in psychology.
That same year, David joined the Navy, where his keen intellect shone through. He decided he wanted to learn celestial navigation, so he got a couple of books and taught himself.
“He became a navigator while he was still an ensign,” Norwood Bryan said. David Bryan applied the same methodical approach to learning ham radio, studying and earning a general class license.
Back in Fayetteville, David and Norwood took over the family business, Bryan Pontiac-Cadillac, which operates today as Bryan Honda.
“We were business partners for 55 years and never had a serious disagreement about policy,” Norwood Bryan said.
Outside of business, David nurtured a love of music. Norwood said his brother played trumpet in the very first edition of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.
David also enjoyed outings at Wrightsville Beach, Norwood said.
“He would take his boat out, anchor it, and go swimming by himself,” Norwood said. “It always worried me a little bit.”
Norwood said his brother was an “invisible philanthropist,” who provided support for medical programs at Duke as well as his alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill. He would quietly help pay for people to go to college, Norwood said.
Earlier this year, David began to complain of feeling ill.
“He called me and said, ‘I’ve got a fever and a dry cough,’ ” Norwood said. “I said, ‘Those are COVID symptoms, you’d better get tested.’ He did, and he had it.”
David drove himself to Duke, where he was diagnosed and hospitalized. He was there for four nights before being discharged.
But Norwood said his brother didn’t get any better, and he was readmitted. He spent four days on a ventilator but his condition continued to worsen.
As the end neared, David’s family said their goodbyes over the phone.
After David’s death, Norwood said he was deluged with expressions of sympathy.
“I’ve gotten a couple hundred letters and notes,” he said, “some of whom I didn’t even know.”
LESSONS LEARNED EARLY
From the time Gregory Allen started the first grade to the time he finished the 12th, his mother, Estelle Allen, was always there when he got home.
“That didn’t mean much to me then,” Gregory said, “but as I think about it more, that meant a lot to me and my sister.”
Estelle Allen was 94 when she died Aug. 12 of complications of COVID-19.
Born May 7, 1926, in Cheraw, South Carolina, Estelle Coates Allen grew up on the family farm, her son said.
Like so many other farm girls, Estelle learned skills that she would carry with her throughout her life, including making her own clothes.
“She made my clothes, she made my sister’s clothes,” Gregory said. He said he eventually got embarrassed at wearing handmade clothes and asked his mother to get him some store-bought clothes like the other boys wore.
Gregory said his mother was supportive in all his endeavors. She taught him how to throw a baseball and came to all his school track meets and football and baseball games.
Frugality was also a trait learned on the family farm during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Gregory said where he might spend $100 at the grocery store, his mother could spend $30 and come home with enough food for a week.
Along with those life skills, Estelle possessed a deep appreciation of beauty. She loved to make flower arrangements, do decoupage and play the piano, Gregory said.
“Everything she played was by ear,” he said, “and there was nothing she couldn’t play.”
Estelle had plenty of opportunities to play the piano in church. She joined Snyder Memorial Baptist Church after moving to Fayetteville in the early 1970s, Gregory said, and played for Sunday School classes.
“She would play the piano and they would sing and she just loved that,” Gregory said.
Another passion was bridge. Gregory said his mother formed a bridge club shortly after coming to Fayetteville; the club is still in existence today.
Estelle did have her indulgences. One was shoes - Gregory estimated she owned more than 100 pairs; the family used to joke that she could give former Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos a run for her money.
Gregory said his mother had underlying health conditions, including atrial fibrillation.
“She wasn’t in good shape, but if she hadn’t gotten COVID, I don’t think she would have died then,” he said. “The COVID was too much for her. Her little body couldn’t handle it.”
Estelle Allen’s survivors include her son, her daughter Phyllis and her husband of 76 years, Jerome Brooks Allen.
Gregory said his mother’s faith sustained her through the end of her life.
“She loved the Lord and she constantly read the Bible,” he said. “While she died, there’s no question in my mind where she is now.”
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