My husband’s grandpa Rodney always had his hair long. He kept stocked up on hairspray and combs. Sometimes I feel the urge to buy him some even though he’s been gone since January. My husband is growing his hair to match his grandpa’s. We miss him so much.

My sister-in-law, Nan, came into my life when she started dating my brother when I was 6 years old. She became the sister I never had. She loved me and I loved her. I always knew when I lost my Mother she would be there to help me and my brother get through it. God had a different idea.
She was a wonderful and loving wife, daughter, mother, sister, friend, sister in law, and Nana!!
My favorite was friend and one of my favorite memories was of my childhood. She worked at a photography studio and I would get to go with her to work sometime. Then she would give me money to go to the 5 and 10 store and I would get a new coloring book and crayons. When I got back we would have the best time talking, laughing, and coloring.
As I grew up she was always there for me. So when my Mom got sick with cancer I knew Nan would be there, but she too was diagnosed with cancer.
My mother succumbed to the cancer in October 2020 and Nan was doing well. I remember telling her Nan I may need you a lot since Momma is gone. She said I will be here as much as possible. Then things changed.
At the end of October she and my brother both got Covid. She seemed to be doing ok then all of a sudden she couldn’t breathe so she went to the hospital and died on November 10 2020. I sure do miss her.

Bonita was my husband’s 56 year old niece. She struggled with health issues all her life, lost her baby boy, but yet kept fighting. She was taken from her family much too soon.

Mary LaVerne was a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, friend and helpful to all. She always took care of everyone’s children, always taking field trips. She was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia at age of 61, after having many mini strokes which she had to be put in Essex Nursing Home where she thrived at first going to Catholic Mass, socializing, listening to music, playing bingo, doing arts & crafts, the red hat society ( where I tried to collect enough hats for everyone to have one to keep). She would volunteer me to bake the treats for their monthly party. She began forgetting who we were by 63 but she knew she trusted us. When Covid-19 shut down visitation at the nursing home she was also diagnosed with covid-19 testing positive, having to change her room which I kept decorated and fresh red roses weekly, having no visitors for 4 months ( even though I continued to drop off her snacks). I believe she died from a broken heart because she did not see me her sister, her mother, daughter & daughter in law and grandchildren. She lived for us in her younger years and it must’ve seemed as if we turned our backs on her when she needed us most. We got 1 hour funeral, no friends, no graveside services, no Catholic Mass. It left our family with sadness to lose a loved one at 63 yrs young. I miss our daily talks, laughing and just spending time together.

I’ll forever miss hearing I love you everyday. Words that don’t come often or with meaning now. The hugs you gave as the rain poured on my life. The smile I had seeing you here.. You will be missed…

Also submitted to NPR’s series, “Songs of Remembrance”:

I don’t believe anyone could choose his favorite song; everything he wrote was a labor of love. The final gift he gave us was “I Remember Everything,” which turned out to be maybe his most prophetic. His music inspired millions of fans worldwide and leaves his family with a lasting legacy.

The song title says it all: “I Remember Everything.” It evokes so much emotion and so many memories, they’re truly hard to separate. My best memory of John is the last conversation we had — about six weeks before we lost him. It ended the way every one of our conversations ended: “Love you, Cuz!” —Jennifer Johnson, cousin

Jared Henry, 47, was a wonderful husband/Dad/teacher and high school defensive coordinator at Coalfield High school in Coalfield TN. He transferred to UK Medical on Dec 16th for ECMO to save his life from Covid. The excellent doctors & nurses did all they could and he died Jan 13th. Thank you to all of them for their tireless efforts every single day.
They never gave up and I am forever grateful! He is deeply missed by me, his wife and his two children along with so many players, teachers and friends that his presence meant so much daily. He was an avid bass fisherman and loved the Lord with all his heart. Please say prayers for us as this has been a very hard journey for everyone. We love you Jared!

Northeast Tony
Tony worked out at the same Y as me – the Northeast Y in Louisville. He was older than just about everybody who worked out there but the man could pump more iron than guys half his age. I admired his discipline and grit. He never slacked or gave up in the middle of a set. Sometimes, on those days when I wasn’t feeling it, I would walk by him and shake my head and he would smile and nod “yes”. We never talked much because that’s not what we went there for. This went on for years. I didn’t even know his last name. When I talked about him to friends, I just called him Northeast Tony. Finally, one day, I suggested going out for a beer. We did and I found out we had a lot in common besides weightlifting. He had lived in France for a while and spoke French like me. And like me, he loved to read history. So finally, after years of saying “Hi” and small talk, we connected and shared a laugh. And from then on Northeast Tony became my friend. I really miss his nods of encouragement. He was an inspiration to me. I’m glad I told him that.

Our founding Executive Director, Lil Press, passed away on Sunday, April 26th. Lil is a legend! She is not only the founding Executive Director of the Governor’s Scholars Program; she is our Founding Mother. Obviously, she was the mastermind behind the creation of the non-for-profit organization known as the GSP, a State-related organization with the mission of enhancing Kentucky’s next generation of civic and economic leaders; but her true legacy is the conception of the philosophy that supports the mission and vision of the program, the creation of a community of learners. That concept of community still permeates the magic that takes place every summer.

Personally, I met Lil during the Spring Planning Retreat for faculty in 1992. She had just announced retirement. From her words, I vividly remember her passion for young leaders, her interest in fostering a community of citizens concerned for the common good, and her commitment to the future of Kentucky. From her words, I concluded and still believe today that the GSP is not high school, is not college, it is education at its best.

The GSP honored Lil in several occasions in the last seven years. She was invited to attend a final ceremony on one of our campuses in 2013. After the ceremony, she picked up her phone and called Len, her long-time husband and partner, and with tears in her eyes, said “Len, my dream is still the same.” In 2016, she was recognized at the premiere of our documentary Igniting the Flame of Curiosity, dedicated to her. Also, in the Fall of 2016, the GSP honored her at the National Conference of Governor’s Schools (NCoGS) in Louisville, which we were hosting that year. “Without Lil Press, there would be no NCoGS. It is as simple as that,” says Ted Tarkow, a cofounder of the NCoGS from Missouri.

To paraphrase Mr. Tarkow’s words, it was her visionary leadership that led to the creation of NCoGS in 1987, at a gala meeting in Lexington, KY, at which she presided with energy, ideas, and commitment. These same qualities she had brought for several years to the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program, and to public partners throughout her state that shared her conviction that bright and motivated kids deserve to be immersed in summer programs that focus on intellectual, academic and personal growth and development.

After her husband Len, founding Executive Director of KET, passed away last year, Lil had moved to the State of Washington to be closer to their only son. Our current enemy took her away from us, but her legend lives forever in the spirit of the Governor’s Scholars Program.

We lost Battalion Chief Garry Key to Covid in February, just two months after losing another member to COVID. He was our longest serving member, having been a volunteer for a remarkable 36 years. Chief Key was a US Army retiree and a former deputy sheriff.

Chief Key was a caring person, willing to give himself to helping others, which is how we believe he contracted COVID. As emergency responders, we still answer calls for service and have contact with the public in other ways. While we wear personal protective equipment, this reduces our risk but does not totally eliminate it.

As such we are treating Chief Key’s death as a line of duty death – one where a beloved member has given his life in service to others.

His passing is very saddening in many ways. It is an irreplaceable loss to those who loved him as well as the loss of an experienced first responder with so much left to offer.