My baby brother died four years ago today, February 16th. He was far from a baby at 57 but he should have lived much past that. Covid took him, as it did so many others. The pain is made worse by observing how our country has moved on without acknowledging the pandemic and honoring the lives of the ones we lost and honoring the trauma and grief of those who lost them. That is why Who We Lost is so vital. We will not forget and today, I remember “George “Frenchy” Gregorian.

Pretty much everybody called him Georgie and that is how his memory is embedded in my soul. He was funny, argumentative, could fix anything, an entrepreneur and always willing to help someone out of a bind. He loved Christmas and since his death, the fun and joy of the season has diminished greatly. Georgie had a close group of Armenian friends and they have been kind and sweet enough to stay connected. At Christmas Eve Open House at one friend’s home, as we chatted and enjoyed good food, Georgie became the topic of conversation and the stories flowed out of his friends, their wives and even their kids. I was familiar with some but there were other antics that I had never heard of and others, frankly, I probably would have preferred not hearing about!! But I was struck by the laughter in the room and it was nice to talk about him without feeling sad.

I am grateful for all the stories, the photos and memories because they keep him with all of us who loved him. And thank you to Who We Lost for giving us a voice to my brother and all the others.