|
 Florence lay on her intensive care bed, covered in blankets. Her
grandchildren, Sammie Michael Dent, Jr., and Tamara Tucker, watched
as the nurse took off their grandmother's ventilator and brought the
tablet near to her face.
"Hello, Grandma!" they said to Florence, who was unresponsive. "It's
ok, Grandma, we love you."
Less than 24 hours later, Florence Bolton, 86, was pronounced dead.
So beloved was she in her local community that a church of which she
had been a member from 1974 until it closed last year was reopened
for her funeral. At her eulogy, the former pastor wept.
On Dec. 2, the day Florence passed away, 2,811 people died of
probable COVID-19 complications in the United States, according to a
Reuters tally.
On Monday, the national death toll passed 300,000 people, while
globally deaths have reached an estimated 1.5 million.
Every one of those numbers was a person, with a family, a home, a
story.
Florence Bolton had been married for over 60 years to Raymond Dewitt
Bolton Sr. They lived together in the Roseland community on the
South Side of Chicago, Illinois.
They were the first African-American couple to join the previously
all-white Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1974. Florence taught
Special Education in the Chicago Board of Education School district
for over 35 years, all while being diagnosed as legally blind.
Physically active for most of her life, she enjoyed running 5ks when
younger and continued to walk with her neighbor, Robert Morris,
until around 2015, when he had a hip replacement. She loved
aerobics, line dancing, the farmers' market and large family
gatherings. To her family and friends, she was the matriarch that
had suffered through hard times in the South Side but always had
time to lend an ear or a hand.
The first sign that something was not right was when grandson Sammie
noticed Grandma not looking well and asked if she wanted to take an
aspirin.
[to top of second column] |
 She replied, "I want to go to
the hospital, I have a pain in the back of my
head and a headache." Sammie drove her to the
hospital where, he said, they ran tests,
including for the coronavirus, which came out
negative. She had severe dehydration, they said,
and released her. Through
November, Florence continued to feel unwell. On Nov. 27 Sammie
called an ambulance and she was transported to Roseland Community,
where she tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Dec. 9, Florence Bolton's funeral was held. State
regulations to stop the spread of the coronavirus meant the viewing
and attendance were sparse. In normal times, there would have been
people in lines out the doors waiting to pay their respects.
"My phone has been ringing off the hook with people expressing their
condolences," said Sammie. A small group of close family and friends
were present at the graveside as she was laid to rest.
The Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, which had been closed since
July 2019 following years of economic troubles and a dwindling
congregation, was reopened again just for Florence's funeral.
Pastor Steve Warren, who grew up on the South Side, was formerly the
pastor at Zion Lutheran, and was close to the Boltons, shed tears
during his sermon.
"Last night, I had to dress the altar for the last time; this
congregation ceased to exist in July," he said.
"It came to my mind that I'm doing it for the woman and the couple
that were the very first Black family in this congregation. And the
first is now the last."
(Reporting by Shannon Stapleton, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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