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

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

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

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

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

Brandon was a devoted
Christian, his brother said,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

where his son said he enjoyed
answering travelers' questions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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