Courtney Yarbough, 45
Died February 20, 2021.
Leadership Prep School, Frisco, TX
Special Education
Courtney Neal Yarbough, affectionately known to his wife as “Leo”, was born on August 9, 1975, in Corsicana, Texas. He transitioned to eternity with his Lord and Savior on February 20, 2021, in Frisco, Texas.
At the age of eleven, Courtney accepted Christ. Under the leadership of his mother, he was an active member of the Second Missionary Baptist Church where he attended Sunday school.
Courtney graduated from Corsicana High School. He went on to graduate from Texas State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. He then taught students in Austin Independent School District for a few years before moving to Houston, Texas where he met the love of his life, his rock, his ace, Kimberly Shantelle “Kimmy” Black. The two taught in the Alief Independent School District. During his tenure there, he earned his Master´s degree in Education from the University of Houston.
In 2005, he married his “hammer”, Kim. They moved to North Texas, and God allowed them the gift of being parents to four amazing children. Courtney continued impacting the lives of students at Texans Can Academy, Lewisville Independent School District, and Leadership Prep School in Frisco. He impacted the lives of many of his students and colleagues with his ¨gentle giant¨ temperament.
He turned all of his children into sports fans quickly! They would all gather around the TV on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays and rally around whatever team they were rooting for that week, never missing an opportunity to watch the Cowboys hopefully lose. Nevertheless, he instilled God’s word into each of them and ensured that it was a fabric of the family´s core values.
Courtney was known for his supportive, loving, and easy going temperament. He had a gift for meeting people where they were, with no judgement. Courtney was not only a supportive, loving, and compassionate guardian to his wife, children, and students, but also to his friends. He was a remarkable and inspiring friend who would give the shirt off his back. He loved to get friends and family together to eat and would definitely have a hand in one if not all of the food items, especially Bar-B-Que. Courtney loved to live life to the fullest, seeking every opportunity to serve others and root his children onto a victory.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Yarbough in July 2020 and Euradella Yarbough in December 2020. Those left to cherish precious memories include his wife, Kim; daughter, Nia (15); son, Cade (13); son, Austin (10); son, Crayton (3); parents-in-law, James and Alice Black; brother, Charles Kirklin Yarbough; sister, Rose Marie Small (Anthony); sister-in-love, Lisa Yarbough; niece, Nona Yarbough; nephew, Anthony Small III; great-nephews, Austin and Tripp Small; several aunts and uncles; best friends and his family by choice: JJ, Ozenne, and Yolanda; and many beloved colleagues and dear friends.
Bruce Thomas, 64
Died February 22, 2021.
Albert Einstein Academy, Westlake, OH
Superintendent
was born September 30, 1956 and passed away February 22, 2021. Beloved husband of Kristen (nee Elliott); loving father of Jordan (Danielle), Whitney Gemuenden (Nick), Chase (Kelsey) and Madison Shaheen (Dave); loving stepfather of Amanda and Madison; cherished grandfather of Christopher, Mia, Aubrey, Bentley, Ethan, Evie, Blake and Amirah; brother of Robert (Suzanne), Sharon Bowen (Bill, deceased) and John (Becky); son of the late Clyde and Mary Ann. Bruce was an educator for 40 years and the last 10 he served as the Superintendent of Albert Einstein Academy. He loved playing tennis, riding his Harley and spending time with his grandchildren. The family will receive friends for a memorial visitation on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 from 4-8 p.m. at Fortuna Funeral Home, 7076 Brecksville Road, Independence, Ohio 44131. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Autism Society of America, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 350, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. In order to maintain recommended social distancing, a maximum of 40 people are allowed inside the building at any given time.
Irma Ouimet, 73
Died February 23, 2021.
Unatego Central School District, Otego, NY
Substitute
Irma A. Ouimet of Otego, a native of Peru and Unatego Central School District teacher, passed away Feb. 23, 2021, in the ICU at Bassett Hospital from complications related to COVID-19.
Irma Alejandrina Villegas Ormachea was born in Calca (Cusco), Peru, and became a teacher serving young children in the mountains of Peru. Irma came to live in the U.S. upon her marriage to her husband Gene Ouimet in 1984.
Irma continued her teaching career after moving to Otego and served as a substitute teacher at both Oneonta and Unatego Middle and High Schools. Irma loved working with her colleagues and enjoyed the students, especially sharing her knowledge of Peru with students in Spanish classes.
Irma loved gardening, cooking and painting. She volunteered at Harris Memorial Library in Otego, tending to the flower beds and received a certificate of recognition for her service on Dec. 3, 2011. Irma also loved animals and was a devoted caretaker to her pets and other neighborhood dogs and cats.
Irma is survived by her husband of 36 years, Gene Ouimet of Otego; three stepchildren, Cheryl Ouimet, Jeff Ouimet and Scott Ouimet and his wife, Toni Ouimet; brothers-in-law, Fred and Andre Ouimet and his wife, Caroline Ouimet. Irma also leaves behind five loving siblings, Maria Isabel, Raul, Oswaldo, Americo and Luis, all living in Peru; nieces, Sandra and Alessandra; and nephews, Andres and Sergio. Irma’s special friend Sidlia Torres from Peru, as well as all her beloved friends and neighbors in Otego, were very dear to her during her life.
Irma’s family extends its thanks for all the prayers and support received from family, friends and neighbors during Irma’s illness. The family also expresses its sincere appreciation to the professional, caring and respectful ICU staff at Bassett Hospital who cared so compassionately for Irma during her stay.
A memorial service for Irma will be held in the spring.
Donations may be made in Irma’s name to the Susquehanna SPCA, 4841 NY-28, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
Ana Maria Aragon, 65
Died January 26, 2021.
Academia Del Pueblo, Phoenix, AZ
Paraprofessional
Arizona has lost nearly 16,000 people to COVID-19. One of them was a Phoenix-area school administrator who was featured in a powerful documentary about the frontlines of the pandemic. The documentary is called “Death, Through a Nurse’s Eyes.”
Ana Maria Aragon got sick around mid-December and was later hospitalized, according to relatives. The 65-year-old worked for the Academia Del Pueblo in South Phoenix for more than 20 years. Colleagues there described her as a “child advocate.”
“When grocery shopping, kids would come up to her and say “Miss Anita, Miss Anita!” her son-in-law Frank Munoz tells us.
Munoz spoke with Arizona’s Family alongside his wife, Ana Lilia, who is Aragon’s daughter.
The New York Times was at Valleywise Health in January documenting frontline workers when Aragon lost her battle with the virus. Aragon’s family gave the crew permission to use her identity. The footage captures Aragon’s final moments as family said goodbyes over video call and a nurse held her hand.
“It’s always an honor to be that conduit for the family,” says Sara Reynolds, one of several Valleywise nurses at Aragon’s bed side when she passed away January 26.
After the documentary was released, she got a chance to speak with Aragon’s family. “It’s not all about a thank you,” says Reynolds. “It’s just more, ‘How are you doing?’ and, I’m a real person, too. I did truly care.”
Aragon’s family says they feel grateful they were given the opportunity to be a part of the New York Times project.
“It’s something we never imagined but we wanted to also find out. Now it’s global,” says Munoz. “We wanted to leave a legacy so that our children will know how their grandmother fought until the last minute.”
The family hopes the intimate look at the pandemic’s emotional toll encourages others to “be careful.”
“It’s like she’s going to walk through the door and she’s still here,” says Munoz. “We miss her every day.”
Faye Chadwell, 67
Died March 1, 2021.
Paterson Elementary School, Fleming Island, FL
ESE Secretary
Faye T. Chadwell was called home to heaven all too soon on March 1, 2021, at Orange Park Medical Center, Orange Park, Florida.
Faye was born on December 30, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois to Jacqueline J. Miller and Walter J. Kukla. Faye is a graduate of Tinley Park High School, class of 1971. Upon graduation, Faye entered the work force in banking. She also worked for Area 36 Special Olympics in Marquette, Michigan. Faye found her true calling in the hotel and restaurant industry and held various positions ranging from server to senior executive throughout her career. Faye served as the Controller and then General Manager of Culver Cove Resort from 1993-1996. That was followed by stints at Holiday Inn Properties as a General Manager from 1996-1998. Faye shifted her focus to education and served as the Executive Director of the Indiana Hospitality and Tourism Foundation from 1998-2001. Her career then took her to Orlando, Florida where she served as the Senior Vice President of the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association from 2001-2011. Faye retired from the hospitality industry and next worked as a para professional in special education for Clay County Schools from 2013 until her passing. She worked at Fleming Island Elementary and Swimming Pen and finally at Paterson Elementary as the ESE Secretary.
Faye is survived by her loving husband of 10 years Richard (Chip) Chadwell Jr.; son David (Julie) Gayes, son Nick (Kari) Gayes; grandchildren Emerson, Eva, Katharine, and Niko; stepchildren Reganne and Anders Chadwell; brothers Tom, John and Chris Kukla. She is preceded in death by her parents and brother Walter Kukla.
Faye had many passions in her life. She loved to travel and enjoyed cruising. Dancing and music were another outlet that made her smile! She also loved to watch her beloved Packers and Cubbies – a highlight being in 2016 when the Cubs won the World Series. She was very supportive and acted like a team mom to her husband’s numerous athletic teams over their ten-year marriage.
Faye will be laid to rest at the Jacksonville National Cemetery on a date that will be determined in the near future. The family is also going to have a celebration of life on a future date in Jacksonville, Florida and also in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Bart Pinckney, 53
Died February 22, 2021.
Griffin High School, Griffin, GA
Mathematics
Football, Basketball, and Track Coach
A Spalding County community is mourning the loss of a beloved coach and educator. Coach Bart Pinckney died after a two month battle with COVID-19.
The virus managed to touch all of the members of the Pinckney family. Pinckney, his wife and two children were all fighting the virus at the same time. Sadly, he was the only family member who didn’t win his fight with the virus.
“You know, he just couldn’t bounce back,” Gemia Pinckney said.
Gemia Pinckney said her husband, a Griffin High School math teacher and coach, was a fighter. He spent two months in the hospital battling the virus.
“He never made it home,” Gemia Pinckney said.
Since the recent passing of Bart Pinckney, there has been an outpouring of love and support from the community.
“He lived for the kids. He loved children,” Gemia Pinckney said.
Current and past students have been honoring the legacy of Bart Pinckney.
“He was like a father,” former student Dearius Cobb said.
Cobb credits Bart Pinckney with pushing him to be a better person and to reach for his goals. Cobb is now on the track team at his college.
“Coach, I did it. I did it just to see you and my mom happy,” Cobb said of his accomplishments in college.
Bart Pinckney’s fight was much more difficult. Along with COVID-19, he also contracted pneumonia. In fact, the entire Pinckney family contracted pneumonia while fighting the virus.
Gemia Pinckney believes her husband may have got the virus from a sick co-worker. She asked that people continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
“I don’t even know how life will ever be the same,” she said.
The funeral for Bart Pinckney will be held at Griffin Memorial Stadium on Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.
Carol Zuckerman, 56
Died March 5, 2021.
Aventura Waterways K-8 Center, Miami, FL
First Grade
She was a free spirit, a devoted teacher and a single mom who adored her one and only daughter 10-year-old Lacey.
Carol Zuckerman, a Davie resident who taught first grade at Aventura Waterways K8 Center, died in her sleep Friday while at home battling the coronavirus. She was 56.
Her family and friends were still reeling from the news Sunday.
“Your eyes sparkled whenever talking about Lacey,” one friend wrote on a memorial page. “You will be so deeply missed.”
Another wrote: “I pray you are at peace my friend sleeping on a cloud. I will forever love you and cherish the times we spent together. I will keep up with Lacey and watch over her for you. You will never be forgotten my friend.”
A native of Great Neck, N.Y., Carol Zuckerman had planned to travel to New York to visit her mother over Spring Break, but never got to make the trip.
No one knows for certain where she contracted the coronavirus, her brother, Charles Zuckerman, said from his home in Elmira, N.Y. Doctors have not yet determined whether the virus caused or contributed to her death, he said.
Zuckerman moved to South Florida 15 years ago, her brother said. She spent several years in Aventura but moved to Davie in 2019 with her daughter and their toy poodle, Lexie.
Charles Zuckerman said his sister was known for her fearless independence.
“She was a very active person who had a lot of friends,” he said. “She was like her grandmother. She had a bit of gypsy soul. Loved to travel. Had friends wherever she went.”
As a young woman, she spent several years living in Paris. Later, she lived in California, working at a talent agency. She also lived in Maryland before making the move to sunny Florida.
She earned a master’s degree in business administration, but chose a career in education instead.
“She loved kids and wanted them to feel special,” her brother said. “Teaching was a very satisfying career for her.”
Lacey, Zuckerman’s daughter, will move to New York and be raised by an aunt who has a daughter the same age.
“She’s doing as well as you can” under the circumstances, Charles Zuckerman said of his young niece. “She’s a positive little girl. Just like her mother. She’s looking forward to being with family.”
In addition to her daughter and brother, Carol Zuckerman leaves behind her mother, Anna Zuckerman of Great Neck, N.Y.; sister Marcia Feurer of Westchester, N.Y.; and extended family.
Leroy Rowe, 74
Died February 23, 2021.
Adlai E. Stevenson School No. 29, Rochester, NY
Custodian
Dave Simpson, 61
Died February 27, 2021.
Durham School Services, Spokane, WA
Bus Attendant
A bus attendant with Durham School Services in Spokane has died after testing positive for COVID-19 amid an outbreak among the company’s drivers and other personnel.
Spokane Public Schools partners with Durham to provide school bus services for its students.
Dave Simpson, 62, was diagnosed with the virus on Feb. 22 and passed away on Feb. 27. Simpson started working for Durham Bus Services in 2019 as an attendant for Spokane Public School students with disabilities. A-year-and-a-half later, two of his sisters, Twyla Sample and Starla Barnhill, said they believe he contracted COVID-19 during the Durham employee outbreak in late February.
“We’re in shock that he is gone,” Barnhill said.
“It took me three days before it actually hit me that he’s gone and that he’s not going to be here,” Sample added, while starting to tear up.
Ed Flavin, a spokesperson for Durham, released the following statement to KREM via phone and email on Thursday:
“Sadly, we are heartbroken today to learn that one of our team members who was quarantining passed away. Our bus attendant, whose name we will not share out of respect to their family, had reported to us a COVID-positive test. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our team member’s family and friends in this very difficult time.”
Simpson lived with his nephew, Michael Webb. He said he was having trouble breathing and asked Webb to take him to the ER. The sisters said their nephew went to grab his coat but when he came back it was too late.
“He was unresponsive and wasn’t breathing, so at that time he called 911, and started doing CPR,” Barnhill said. “I don’t know if he ever got him to take another breath.”
Simpson was one of the 28 Durham employees to have tested positive for COVID-19 and one of the nearly 60 quarantined in the last month, according to Flavin. He said 13 of those who tested positive are bus drivers and the others are staff members. Twenty-two staff members, including 11 drivers, were quarantined as of Thursday, March 4.
“The only place that it could come from would be from the bus line,” Barnhill added. “My question to the Durham bus line is — were they requiring them to wear masks?”
Durham informed SPS and the Spokane Regional Health District that the reported cases originated outside of the workplace, according to the school district. Flavin previously told KREM 2 that some employees self-reported COVID-19 exposure.
“The remaining positive cases had no known link to our workplace. Some affected employees are family members and roommates, while others self-reported contact with one another outside of our workplace,” Flavin wrote in a previous email.
Kelli Hawkins, a spokesperson for SRHD, said Durham is “conducting the contact tracing internally,” adding that the health district connects with Durham if officials see new cases in their reporting.
In a February statement, Spokane Public Schools added that they were “aware that there have been reports that Durham hasn’t been following all health and safety protocols.”
In a statement, Durham said “employees are subject to daily employee screening, social distancing, mask protocols and disinfecting protocols.”
Simpson’s sisters said too many of the company’s employees got sick for this to be a freak accident, and while they wait to hear back from Durham, they are are dealing with the aftermath of Webb’s exposure to Simpson.
“The day after my brother died, he started having breathing problems,” Barnhill said about her nephew.
Webb is now in the hospital suffering from the same virus that killed his uncle. They said he is on a ventilator.
“Wear a mask and get the shot,” Barnhill added. “Do whatever you need to protect you and your family.”
Spokane Public Schools issued a statement about Simpson’s death via email on Thursday afternoon. It reads in part:
“We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a Durham School Services Employee, and our thoughts are with the employee’s family and friends during this difficult time. Every individual who works with our students plays an important role in the work that we do as a district.”
The note goes on to say the district is in communication with Durham and will continue to provide updates as information becomes available.
Carl Anderson, 56
Died February 17, 2021.
Carroll Senior High School, Southlake, TX
Football Coach
Carl Robert Anderson, best known as Captain or Coach, passed away on February 17, 2021. He was born in 1964 to Neva Mae Mills and Herman Thomas Anderson. He was a loving husband to Ann Marie; a proud father to Carly Ann and Austin; and a proud Captain to his grandson, Lincoln Robert.
Carl attended Haltom High School where he played football and baseball. He fell in love with Ann Marie Baxter in 1984 and one year later, they were married on June 7, 1985 – it was the rodeo sweetheart’s Levi’s and blue eyeshadow that sealed the deal. In 1991, just before Carly Ann was born, Carl graduated from Texas Wesleyan University and, three years later, their little family was complete with the arrival of Austin. Being a dad to Carly Ann and Austin was Carl’s greatest accomplishment and he made sure everyone knew just how proud he was of his kids.
Carl landed his first job after college at Carter-Riverside High School where he coached football and was the head baseball coach, kicking off a 30 year career inspiring students and molding young athletes into better men.
Carl is preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Ann Marie and his children, Carly Ann and future son-in-law, Alex Akrawi and Austin; grandson, Lincoln; sister, Linda and husband, Bo; brother-in-law, Kevin and wife, Paige; in-laws, Norma and Mitch Baxter; aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews; and a host of “Framily.”
A graveside service will be held on Friday, February 26 at 10:00 am at Mount Olivet in Fort Worth. The family asks that you please maintain social distance and wear a mask for the duration of the service.