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Database Creation
Much of the data gathered here about Covid-19 victims listed on this page came from the KHN & The Guardian "Lost on the Frontline" project database. Building our orphan children database requires following up with families to identify children qualified to apply for Bluebird Awards. We are collecting data from other reliable resources as well. Check here for verified USA data.
Michelle
Donald Beauchene Jr
Sept. 6, 1966 — Nov. 17, 2020 (age 54)
RACE/ETHNICITY White
AGE 54
LOCATION Warren, Ohio
WORKPLACE City of Warren fire department
OCCUPATION Medical first responder
CONCERNS ABOUT ADEQUATE PPE? No
‘He truly had a heart of gold’
When planes crashed into the twin towers on 9/11, Don Beauchene went to New York to help clean up the rubble. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, he got on a plane to help with the rescue.
And, after he and his wife had raised seven children, they decided to adopt four children in need and raise them instead of retiring.
"Don and Michelle shared six children until recently when they adopted four siblings, creating a family of 12. Survivng him are Brittany Hartzell (David) Danforth of Warren, Hillary (Brae) Hartzell of Leavittsburg, Daniel (Toni) Beauchene of Warren, Dustin Beauchene of Vienna, Madison Beauchene of Vienna, Raegan Evans of Niles, and London Beauchene, Brooklyn Beauchene, Lilliana Beauchene and Lucianna Beauchene still at home; grandchildren Alexis, Luca, Jaxon, Zayden and Brodee; a brother, Dr. Robert (Tiffany) Bogli of Cincinnati; a sister, Terry (Jathan) McKay of Louisiana; a brother, Tom Bogli of Tennessee; and a brother-in-law Tim O’Keefe of Leadville, Colo." .. Mahoning Matters
Marcia Barga
RACE/ETHNICITY White
AGE 67
LOCATION West Liberty, Ohio
WORKPLACE Community Health and Wellness Partners
OCCUPATION Nurse
CONCERNS ABOUT ADEQUATE PPE? No
A nurse who was ‘larger than life’
Marcia Barga wore pink streaks in her hair at age 50 and painted every room in her house a different color.
“Larger than life, that was my mom,” her youngest son, Eric Barga, said. “She was one of those moms that always made hundreds of pounds of food for Thanksgiving, regardless of how many people were coming.”
Bernard Atta
RACE/ETHNICITY Black
AGE 61
LOCATION Orient, Ohio
WORKPLACE Correctional Reception Center
OCCUPATION Nurse
CONCERNS ABOUT ADEQUATE PPE? Yes
Ghana-born nurse made ‘a deep impact across the planet’
Last December, when Kojoh Atta visited his father’s home town in Offinso, Ghana, he arrived bearing gifts. His father, Bernard Atta, worked overtime at an Ohio prison so he could afford to send drums of clothing across the Atlantic.
Inside were sneakers, sandals and Ralph Lauren polos for cousins. “Always with stripes,” Kojoh said, “so the boys knew they were special.” His father’s generosity and his relatives’ regard for him made Kojoh realize “there are countless unsung heroes making a deep impact across the planet”.
As Covid-19 ravaged Ohio, Kojoh urged his father to leave work, worried about inadequate protective gear. Bernard refused, saying it was his duty to stay. (A prison spokesperson said that personal protective gear “… was, and continues to be available to staff.”)
After Bernard tested positive for Covid-19, he remained home, fearing the hospital bills. On 17 May, Kojoh awoke to a flurry of WhatsApp messages. His father died, leaving behind his wife, three other children and grandchildren.
– Eli Cahan
Claudia Boughman
RACE/ETHNICITY White
AGE 62
LOCATION Dover, Ohio
WORKPLACE New Dawn Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center
OCCUPATION Community or social worker
CONCERNS ABOUT ADEQUATE PPE? Unknown/Other
Social worker was a pillar of her community
At the house where Claudia Boughman lived until she became ill, carefully scalloped rocks line the garden beds. Indoors at least a dozen jars are filled with rocks. Boughman picked them up on hikes, along roadsides and even joyously liberated them from loved ones’ backyards. Where some might see granite or sandstone, Boughman saw something beautiful. “Each rock was a memory of a place, an event, an experience,” her daughter, Jessica Celesnik, said.
Boughman came to social work in her 30s, having previously worked as a hairdresser at a nursing home and then as a nurse’s aide. She worked as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault and then returned to nursing facilities.
“It relieved her stress knowing she could help people,” Celesnik said.
As lockdown orders began, Boughman kept working but otherwise isolated. She didn’t knowingly work with Covid-19 patients, but when she died, 34 patients and 14 staff members at the facility had tested positive for the coronavirus.
New Dawn did not respond to a request for comment.
— Maureen O’Hagan
Tina Reeves
RACE/ETHNICITY Black
AGE 58
LOCATION Orient, Ohio
WORKPLACE Pickaway Correctional Institution
OCCUPATION Nurse
CONCERNS ABOUT ADEQUATE PPE? Yes
‘She always listened and never judged’
When Tina Reeves visited her grandchildren, music would blast from the car. Wale’s On Chill rang out: “Trying to hear all your problems, so I can lighten the load.”
“She loved her music,” said daughter Tiana Mohabir, “even though she had no rhythm for squat.”
Reeves had an ear for other people’s lives, though. Younger co-workers called her “Mother Advice”, Mohabir said. In interactions with prisoners and officers alike “she always listened”, Mohabir said, “and never judged”.
She called her three daughters daily, “checking in on all of us”, Mohabir added.
When Reeves started coughing in early April, Pickaway had already reported more than 1,500 cases of Covid-19.
“PPE [personal protective equipment] was, and continues to be, available to staff,” a prison spokesperson said. The family said their mother did not have access to adequate PPE.
Reeves was hospitalized with Covid-19 on 13 April. She called her daughter to ask her to take care of paying her utility, insurance and cable bills. “I didn’t think twice,” Mohabir said, “because I didn’t want them shut off when she got home.”
Within 24 hours, Reeves was intubated.
– Eli Cahan
Tawauna Averette
RACE/ETHNICITY Black
AGE 42
LOCATION Kettering, Ohio
WORKPLACE Kettering Health Network
OCCUPATIONNurse
CONCERNS ABOUT ADEQUATE PPE? No
Mother of seven ‘never got to hold’ her newborn
As a cardiac care nurse in Ohio, Tawauna Averette had seen the devastation of Covid-19 on families. She said too many people were downplaying it, recalled her husband, Charles. A mother of six and pregnant again, she “wanted people to take it more seriously”.
Averette was a registered nurse for years at Kettering Health Network and called it her dream job. Around the end of October, Charles said three or four of the other nurses on her unit were infected with the killer virus.