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Detroit's Covid-19 Memorial, Families Say Final Goodbyes

(CBS DETROIT) – Families uniting in tears to mourn the loss of their loved-one.

They're all connected in their pain of not being able to properly say goodbye after Covid-19 took the life of someone dear in their hearts.

Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit's Arts and Culture Director Rochelle Riley wanted to fill a void for families who loss someone to Covid-19 by memorializing them in a way that will never be forgotten.

"We didn't have visitation. We didn't have a funeral and you don't realize what an important part that is to the grieving process," said Duggan.

Monday over 900 of the 1,500 Detroit coronavirus victims were honored with billboard-sized pictures along belle isle.

Sisters Krystal Harper and Kimberly Weaver stopped by memorial drive to honor their father James Harper whose battle with the coronavirus took the family by surprise.

"It went from observation to his kidneys shutting down. We need to put him on dialysis. His oxygen levels are too low. We got to put him on a ventilator. I mean everyday it was something. Almost every day," said Kimberly Weaver.

After spending two weeks in the hospital the 80-year-old's condition quickly declined.

"That time that's right when the governor had shut down the state and the hospitals were not letting anybody in there at all and we really, really fought to get someone to see him and I was blessed to get up there and see him and 15 minutes after I got there he coded, he passed," she said.

The sisters are now moving forward with the memory of their father taking permanent residence in their hearts while expressing sympathy to all who had to say good-bye too soon.

"I'm glad he's not suffering anymore because that rollercoaster everyday wondering what they gone say, took five days to come back with the results. I mean it was really hard. So now that that is don, now we can work on ourselves spiritually and do what we need to do to see out father again," said Krystal Harper.

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