D.C., Maryland, Virginia coronavirus victims: Who we have lost

David Driskell was an artist, art historian, art collector, art teacher, author and curator who became a primary sponsor and advocate for the role of African American art in the national culture. As an artist, Driskell was best known for a 1956 painting, “Behold Thy Son,” a graphic representation of the mutilated corpse of Emmett Till. He served on the art faculties of several historically black colleges but was best known for his affiliation with the University of Maryland from 1977 to 1998.

Leilani Margurite Jordan’s mother called her “Butterfly,” for her love butterflies. She worked part time at Giant supermarket in Largo and continued to work despite the spread of the novel coronavirus. Jordan’s mother, Zenobia Shepherd, tried to explain the risks of working. But she said Jordan, who had a disability that caused “cognitive delays,” impaired her vision and left her reliant on a service dog, probably did not fully understand the potential dangers of the coronavirus. And her daughter’s desire to help others, Shepherd said, was overpowering.

Noel Sinkiat planned to retire in December after 41 years working as a nurse at Howard University Hospital. He would finally go on a long motorcycle trip with his friends. He was the first member of National Nurses United, which represents about 150,000 health-care workers nationwide, to succumb to the virus, the union said.

Kenneth J. Moore was a father figure wherever he went. By day, he helped counsel and guard teenagers who had been arrested in the District for the city’s Youth Rehabilitation Services. On nights and weekends, he was a dad to his three sons, two stepchildren and many other youths he encountered as his kids grew up in Prince George’s County.

Sterling Matthews was a veteran of both the U.S. Air Force and Army. He was working in support services at Fort Belvoir when he became ill. He went to the hospital on March 23 seeking to be tested for the novel coronavirus, but he was told he had pneumonia and was sent home. He returned four days later by ambulance and died four days after that at Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center in Chester, Va.

Jerry Manley was a retired police sergeant beloved for his generosity and wisecracking humor, a devoted volunteer for charities and a married father of four. “A gentle giant who’d give you the shirt off his back and not expect anything in return,” said his neighbor Kelly Brogan.

Gary Holmberg was a retired D.C. firefighter who loved sports, pranks and being outside. He grew up in the District and joined the D.C. National Guard after graduating from Anacostia High School. He served for 22 years as a firefighter, retiring in 1988 from Engine 15.

Chad Capule was an IT project manager. His family remembers him as a cheerful and inquisitive man who was known as a peacemaker. For eight years, he organized a trivia fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Dupont Circle, his wife said. He even appeared on one episode of “Jeopardy!” in 2015. He died at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac, Wisc., where he had traveled in March to oversee the installation of a computer system at the hospital.

Eastern Stewart, a military veteran, could manage a crowd and de-escalate conflict like no one else. He was the house manager at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts and had worked for nearly a decade at the 800-seat Bowie performing arts center.

Terrance Burke was a well-known school counselor and basketball coach at Northwestern High in Hyattsville, Md. The Navy veteran had asthma but was physically fit and ate a healthy diet. His death came as a shock to his family.

Maria Linda Villanueva Sun was, at various times in her life, a restaurateur, interior designer, accountant, stay-at-home mom and Army wife. It was the last of these roles that brought the longtime San Francisco Bay-area resident to Newport News, Va., where her husband had recently been transferred to Fort Eustis. The couple bought a house in October and were still in the process of moving some items from the West Coast to the East when Sun died of covid-19.

George Valentine was a longtime lawyer in the D.C. Attorney General’s Office who later worked as a legal adviser to Mayor Bowser. Those who worked with Valentine described a stellar attorney who knew the city and its laws. Valentine, who went on to Harvard Law School from a small historically black university in Alabama, dedicated a long career to public service, and mentored young lawyers.

Susan Rokus, a Loudoun County Public Schools reading tutor, died of novel coronavirus-related health complications. Rokus started as a first-grade teacher in 1969 and retired in 2014, staying on part time to tutor struggling readers at two elementary schools. She was the first known death in the county.

Sterling Maddox was a trained civil engineer. He was born and raised in Montgomery County and only crossed the Potomac River in the past decade to live close to his daughters and beloved grandsons in Northern Virginia. He served a brief stint in the Maryland legislature five decades ago and later became a developer where he helped to establish neighborhoods in the region.

John-Sebastian Laird-Hammond had been a member of Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America since the late 1980s and had for the last 14 years run its day-to-day operations as the business manager. He was the first person to die of the novel coronavirus in the District.