The COVID-19 pandemic has made the ZOOM meeting a fixture of our lives and even our deaths. As gatherings became unsafe, funeral businesses have shifted much of what they do online.
“There is a hunger and an appetite to to grieve and mourn,” said Barry Koch, co-founder of TGBeyond, which helps families navigate late and end-of-life needs. “We re actually biologically wired in a way that grieving is an essential part of the human experience.”
Since the pandemic hit, the bulk of Barry’s work has been producing online memorials. Grieving on Zoom felt like the only safe choice for the family and friends of Daniel Williams, who died by suicide in Athens on Jan. 12. His sister, Anna Ruth Williams runs arpr, a technology public relations firm in Atlanta, so she is tech-savvy. She, her mother, Terri Davis, and Dan’s widow, Melissa Lee, put together a Zoom memorial five days later.
Paula Babb, longtime support staff member with Richard A. Zuber Realty, needed a project during COVID that she hoped would âsave her sanityâ and also express her appreciation for the heroic efforts afforded by individuals dedicated to saving lives and protecting our communities.
âThe COVID crisis has highlighted the essential services our police department provides our communities,â Babb explained. I wanted to give back to them for their uncompromising service.â
Babb spent her free time and funds toward creating personalized mugs as gifts to 15 members of the Eastern Berks Regional Police Department and EMTs.
- Advertisement -
Chief Barry Leatherman, Sergeant Amy Babb, and police officer Barry Koch accepted the gifts along with a Zuber Realty shopping tote bag recently from Babb; Richard Zuber, owner of Richard A. Zuber Realty; and agent Jody Dolansky, coordinator of the Zuber organizationâs community outreach committee.