UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A Union County worker and her husband both died from complications related to coronavirus over the weekend.
After 40 years of marriage, Lora and David McManus passed away on the same day, leaving behind their 14-year-old daughter Sara.
“It was shocking, it was sad to work with someone so closely for so long and then them pass so tragically and leave behind their daughter whom they loved so so much," Ashley Terrell said.
Terrell and Lora worked together for over a decade.
“She is just one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, she had a heart of gold, would do anything for you," Terrell said.
With each new COVID-19 case number and each new COVID-19 death, it's important to remember those are people with family and friends.
“It’s hard to think that that could happen to someone you know," Steven Ellis said.
"You don't really think that it's, that it could happen to someone that close to you someone that you call your work mom but it can," Lora's colleague Steven Ellis said.
Lora worked in the county's public works customer service office for more than 20 years.
"Every time I do walk by her desk, I catch myself glancing over, looking to see if she's still there," Ellis said.
Her colleagues say it won't be the same without her.
“It was really just a reminder really of how fragile life is and how we should tell people how much we love them, and respect them, and appreciate them," Terrell said.
Ellis said it changed his perspective.
“It opened my eyes," he said. “Take every precaution that you can because you think it might not be at your doorstep but you never know.”