This month I did my Mourning in COVID story. I won’t put all the images here they are in my story section. I can just remember hearing people talk about picking out the ten people would attend their family members funeral. I can remember getting flash backs to my grandmother the summer before. I can remember being surrounded by family I hadn’t seen in years. Seeing my grandmother one last time was the closure I needed. Then I came up with the idea for this story. It wasn’t one that I took lightly. I met with funeral home directors before hand. I talked with families on the phone to explain why we were doing this project. I let them talk about the relatives that they loved so much. We set boundaries for what and wasn’t allowed to be photographed. I set up a hand signal when I arrived to the funerals and if they gave me the finger guns it was time for me to leave so they could have their time. It was incredibly hard to cover but I hope it made a difference for someone.

Marsha Marcellus of Rock Island, goes to say her final goodbyes to her father, Harold J. Schaab, 93, of Rock Island, May 26, 2020. Schaab passed away Tuesday, May 19, 2020 and due to the COVID-19 his family was restricted to ten family members attending his service at Wheelan Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory in Rock Island.