Leonardo Guzman was a big foodie — he loved to go out to eat and try new things. He will be remembered by his family as an honest, hard-working man with a great sense of humor. “Grandpa Leo,” as his granddaughter calls him, immigrated to the US from Colombia in the 1980s. “He worked really, really hard for our family to have better opportunities here and we did,” says Ericka Uribe. “All of us lived for him, to make his dreams come true.”

His nickname was “Grandpa ‘Grumpy’ Dave,” a term of endearment for a man who loved being a grandpa. Rain or shine, David Domina cheered on the sidelines of his grandsons’ games or volunteered at the concession stand so parents could watch their children play. A devoted father of two daughters and a man of deep faith, Domina loved nature walks and reading his bible. “His presence is missed immensely in our home,” says Holly Yardley, Domina’s daughter.

“He was my soul. He was the light of my eyes,” Angel Crespo says of his son. Despite the challenges of living with Cerebral Palsy, Anthony Velez enjoyed life’s simple pleasures — from food to travel. He loved music and playing his keyboard. “He brought joy to everybody because of his gentleness. He was like a gentleman, the way he treated people.”

Joseph R. LaMarche was an active churchgoer and a father of five, including two sets of identical twins. His daughter, Cheryl Kemp, describes him as an avid hobbyist. He loved the ocean, gardening, fly-tying and making his own furniture. “He was just creative and loving,” Kemp says. “A real teddy bear of a man.”

Ruben Burks spent more than 60 years championing the work of women and people of color in the labor movement. “His real focus was on community, and making sure everyone had an opportunity to be their best self,” his grandson Tony Burks says. Known for his constant thumbs-up, Ruben encouraged his large family to face difficult situations with positivity and enthusiasm. He was the first African-American secretary-treasurer of the United Auto Workers, and even after he retired, he organized a group to protest the water supply problems in Flint.

Kious Jordan Kelly was an assistant nurse manager at Mt. Sinai Hospital. “He was amazing,” his sister Marya Sherron says. “Anyone that knew him, his smile, everything about him, spoke for itself.” Kelly, who suffered from asthma, tested positive for Covid-19 on March 18. “I found out he was sick and in the ICU at the same time,” Sherron says. Kelly texted his sister, saying he couldn’t talk because he wasn’t able to breathe. “I love you, going back to sleep,” Kelly texted. It was the last text message his sister received from him.

Michael Ortiz had been battling multiple myeloma since 2012. His wife, Bonnie Ortiz, says one of the things she’ll miss most is driving to work together every morning. “My husband Michael was taken way too soon,” Bonnie says. “He was one of a kind … the best husband, father, brother, son and friend. His main goal in life was to make people happy and he never let his disease get in the way. He taught everyone that you can overcome any obstacle that life throws at you, and still find the positive in every situation.”

“Jonas Chaves was an engaged citizen through and through,” writes his nephew Richard Harris. A Navy veteran, fire department volunteer and former FAA employee, Chaves left his long-term care facility while undergoing treatment for a serious infection to cast his vote at the local town hall. “He always took his civic responsibilities seriously.”

Ira Krakow wants everyone to know that his wife of nearly 50 years would always sacrifice her own comfort for the comfort of others. She used this “skill,” as he calls it, throughout her three-decade career as a nurse working in obstetrics and caring for quadriplegics. Sandra was never one to complain, so her last words to Ira revealed how much pain the virus had caused. “Why me?” she asked.

Allan F. Seebach, Jr. was a member of the Tappan Fire Department for 44 years. Several years ago, Seebach fulfilled his dream of opening a model train store in his hometown called The Old & Weary Car Shop. On his “final ride” through Tappan, a vintage fire truck carried Seebach’s casket to the cemetery behind the house where he grew up. As they turned in, the gates came down and a train went right by. “Everybody got out of their cars, thinking that was him telling everybody he was OK,” Laurie Buchtmann, his former wife, says.

Ward Harlow was a kind and gentle man who loved his family deeply, his daughter-in-law, Christine Harlow-Harris, says. He was a former elementary school teacher and a chess master, and he loved pitching horseshoes. “He believed in treating everyone with kindness and love no matter who they were.”

Mary and George Schneider were married for 63 years and passed away within three days of each other. “They were so close,” their daughter Marylee Sauder says. “I couldn’t imagine one living without the other.” Mary and George were active community members, and took great joy attending the orchestra and watching their beloved Phillies. Above all, they loved their family, and they shared their love as pillars of the First Presbyterian Church.

“My dad was a very loving man. A noble man. A family man,” says Lauren Victorino. Augusto Valderas was a social worker and youth basketball coach. He came to the US from the Dominican Republic in 1988 and is survived by his wife and three children.

The oldest of 14 siblings, Earnestine Johns-Carter attended the first all-black school in Picayune, Mississippi, and was one of the first majorettes to march in front of the school band. She loved dancing, music (especially DJ Papa Smurf) and daily trips to Walmart. “Her goal in life was to find, bring and keep her family legacy alive,” says her daughter, Vinner Scott. She will be “forever be remembered for the joy and love she left behind.”

Varsenik “Vi” Morse was known to her family as “Ma,” “Grandma,” and “Grandma Great.” She had 12 kids, 37 grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. “Eventually we had to use a hall for our Christmas parties,” her granddaughter Lisa Rader says. Morse loved bowling and playing slots at the casino. She always had an open-door policy: “She took in so many people and family friends that didn’t have a place to stay, even though she already had a full house,” Rader says.

Nagjija Gjidija and her husband fled the Balkans in the 1970s and emigrated to the US, where their daughter Liria Gjidija says they “epitomized the American Dream.” The couple had four children, and in November last year they celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. On April 1, 2020, Nagjija died of cardiac arrest following a coronavirus diagnosis. “We were the light of her life, as she was ours, but there was no one she loved more than my dad,” Liria says. “They never spent a day without one another.”

Timothy Lloyd Pernell Sr. was diagnosed with HIV in 1997. He also struggled with COPD and end-stage lymphoma. “He is a medical marvel,” says his daughter, Dr. Chris T. Pernell. “He never quit. He kept pushing, daring to live for his family and inspiring loads of health care providers along his journey.”

The night Miguel Moran died from complications of the coronavirus, his 23-year-old son, Daniel ****Moran, said a bedside prayer at St. Joseph Hospital. Eight days later, Daniel himself was dead from the disease. Father and son were buried together. Reina Garay says she and her husband had been married for 35 years. “He was a loving, Christian man.” Daniel was president of the youth group of his Pentecostal church on Long Island. He often carried a Bible in his hand and liked spending time with younger church members, occasionally leading them in song as they sat around a fire in the rear yard of the church. “They brought us so much happiness,” Mercedes Moran said of her father and brother.

From the garments she made as a seamstress to the care she put into cooking, Siew Eng was a perfectionist. She spent hours making Malaysian Teochew Png Kueh, a steamed glutinous rice cake. It’s meant for birthdays, but she made it whenever her family asked. “With Chinese culture, you show love through what you do. Not only did she do that, but she hugged you and said she loved you,” her granddaughter Justine Chen says.