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JUDY WOODRUFF: And now, as we do
every Friday, we take a moment
to share the stories of five

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extraordinary individuals
who have fallen victim to
COVID-19 in this country.

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Brandon McCray found a
niche in music as a young
boy, his brother said.
He played the guitar,

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violin and bass, but was
best known for his skills
as a gospel saxophonist.

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He taught music and recorded
an album in the 1990s.

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Brandon was a devoted
Christian, his brother said,

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and played at many
church events, including
funerals, adding that
the music had a way of

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encouraging families
in their time of need.
Brandon was 52 years old.

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Lorintha Umtuch was an
ambitious, driven woman,
her daughter told us.

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She went back to school
in her 40s and received a
degree in political science.

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Lorintha spent more than
two decades as a tribal
court judge on reservations
around the West Coast.

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She was the first woman
from the Yakama Nation to
serve as mayor of Toppenish,

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a city in Washington state.
The 73-year-old was an active
member of the Baha'i faith

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and was passionate about
teaching it to children,
her daughter said.

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Seventy-eight-year-old Shabbir
Hamdani loved to interact
with people, his son told us,

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and that's exactly what he
did for about 40 years as a
cab driver. A native of India,

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he moved to England, and then
to the U.S., landing in the
Dallas area in the 1980s.

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He was adventurous,
gregarious and outgoing,
his son said. For the last

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few years, Shabbir was
volunteering at the information
booth at the Dallas Airport,

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where his son said he enjoyed
answering travelers' questions.

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Abel and Aida Busque came to
the United States from the
Philippines in the 1970s and

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settled in Detroit. They were
pioneers and worked incredibly
hard, their son told us,

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Abel in financial services,
and Aida as an OB-GYN nurse.

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Their children often
saw them as a single,
complementary entity. Abel

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was stricter and sometimes
stern. Aida was soft
and giving, their son
said. Both 73 years old,

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the Busques died about a week
apart, just months before
their 50th wedding anniversary.

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It was a kind of beautiful
poetry, their son told us,

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like they couldn't bear to
be apart from each other.

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And we thank all the
family members who shared
these stories with us.
Our hearts go out to you,

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as they do to everyone
who's lost a loved
one in this pandemic.