ATLANTA – More than two dozen teachers and staff members in Georgia have died of COVID-19 since the start of the school year in July. Channel 2 Action news can confirm.
The youngest was only 24 years old.
They were teachers and coaches. They were bus drivers and school resource officers. They were administrative assistants and daycare teachers. They were canteen managers and education specialists.
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At least 24 of these teachers and staff members have died since August 11, in just over 30 days.
Channel 2 Action news he could only confirm that two of the teachers and staff members were vaccinated. According to family members, at least three were not. In many cases, families asked people to get the vaccine after the death of their loved one.
Taken together, the following list represents an impressive portrayal of the tragic toll that the COVID-19 delta variant has taken on from educators across the state. Here are their names and stories:
Leah Ann Tinsley, 64, died of COVID-19 on Sept. 11, according to his son. He was an accountant to the Board of Education and had worked at Rutland Middle School. He leaves behind a son and a grandson.
Ryan Dupree, 24 died of COVID-19 on September 6, just one day after testing positive. Dupree was the new assistant basketball coach at Shorter University in Rome.
Rodney Lee, 44 He died Sept. 6 after a battle with COVID-19, the Dalton Daily-Citizen reported. The father of three had been a physical education teacher at Varnell Elementary School in Dalton for 18 years. He was very active in his church, where he served as a deacon for nine years. His wife, Lacey Lee, said he loved young people. The family was not vaccinated, but Lacey Lee told the newspaper that she was glad her husband’s story inspired some people to shoot them.
Bobby Leverette, 75, died of COVID-19 on Sept. 5, The Associated Press confirmed. He was one of three bus workers who died of the virus the same week. He was the grandfather of two children and a bus driver in the Griffin-Spalding school district. He was a Vietnam War veteran and retired from Piedmont Airlines / US Airways.
Jamie Morris, 40, died of COVID-19 on Sept. 4, according to his wife. He was a 7th grade teacher at Pierce County Middle School and the father of three children. He also coached football and middle school football.
Angela Sistrunk, 62 years old died of COVID-19 on Sept. 4 in Savannah, according to WSAV.com. She was a long-time 6th grade science teacher at DeRenne Middle School who had retired, but this year she taught again. She had been vaccinated, but had underlying illnesses, WSAV.com reported.
Frankie Gutierrez, 46 He died on September 2 after a battle with COVID-19. He was a school resources officer at Welch Elementary School in Coweta County. He was the father of four children, including a newborn, and took on the job so he could spend more time with his family.
Scarlet Snails, 60, died of COVID-19 on September 2, according to his family. He had been working with the Bulloch County school system on nutrition services for over 20 years. She was recently the dining room manager for Portal Elementary School. She was the mother of four children.
Michael Lewis, 42, died of COVID-19 on Sept. 1 in Bainbridge, numerous friends and co-workers said on social media. He was an award-winning teacher, author, coach and adjunct professor in Bainbridge, Georgia. Lewis, who earned a double doctorate from New Southeastern University, had recently taught at Bainbridge Middle School and Southern Regional Technical College. He also taught local prisoners who wanted to earn the GED. Lewis also wrote a children’s book, was a founding member of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity at Valdosta State University, and was an active member of the Georgia Association of Educators.
Sean Hammond, 51 died Aug. 30 after testing positive for COVID-19 just days after the school year. Hammond was a football coach at Hammond Creek Middle School in Dalton. Hammond tested positive for three days in pre-planning and incorporating new teachers. However, school officials said he was never able to start the school year with students in the classroom. His wife was also hospitalized for the virus. Leave a small child behind.
Penny Gary, 58 died of COVID-19 on Aug. 29, WJCL.com reports. She was a social studies teacher at Statesboro High School in Bulloch County and had taught in the district for 17 years. He leaves behind his son and several grandchildren.
Natalia D’Angelo, 43 years old died Aug. 28 of COVID-19. She was a special education bus driver in the Griffin-Spalding school district. Her bus supervisor, Marie Darley, also died from the virus. A wreath was hung on his bus, # 07-14.
Kristi Crawford, 49 died Aug. 27 after a week-long battle with COVID-19, WTVM.com reports. She was a teacher at JD Davis Elementary School in Columbus for over 20 years. He leaves behind four daughters.
Chris Bachelor, 42 died Aug. 25 after a month-long battle with COVID-19. He was a school resources officer at CW Davis Middle School in Hall County. He leaves behind his wife and an 11-year-old daughter.
Rachael Akridge, 41, died of COVID-19 on August 21, his family confirmed in a GoFundMe. He was an administrative assistant at the Transitions Learning Center in Statesboro. His 26-year-old stepson, Jimmy Adkins, also died of the virus just four days before Akridge’s death.
Tami Sue Singleton, 61 years old died after a 9-day battle with COVID-19 on 20 August. His daughter, Brandi Singleton Waters, said so Channel 2 Action news that she was a bus driver for special needs students in Gwinnett County and that her husband is still recovering from the virus. “My dad got his first COVID shot today, and I totally think my mom would still be here if she had agreed to get vaccinated,” Waters said on channel 2. Singleton was also a devout grandmother. “She had two beautiful red-headed granddaughters, a boy and a girl, who had curly hair and loved it.”
Rashida Kimmons, 40, died Aug. 19 of COVID-19. He taught at the primary school SL Mason de Valdosta. “One of the last things he asked me was,‘ Who has my kids? He went further when it came to his children in school, he treated those children from school and the class as if they were his own. There was nothing she didn’t do for her children, ”her husband Adolphus Kimmons said WALB-TV.
Marie Darley, Aged 75, died on August 19 of COVID-19. She was a special education bus monitor in the Griffin-Spalding School District. The driver of his bus, D’Angelo, also died. Darley was a 12-year-old grandmother and 14-year-old great-grandmother.
Brian Mainor, 51 He died of COVID-19 on 18 August. He was a teacher at Hahira Primary School in Valdosta. He was the second teacher in the district to die in just 24 hours. Rashida Kimmons died on 19 August.
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Shirley Duggan, 77, died of COVID-19 on Aug. 15, according to the Brantley County School District. She was a school bus driver in Brantley County for about 20 years. She loved going to church and spending time with her five children, 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Walter Kearse IV, 36, he died on 13 August despite being completely vaccinated. He was a teacher and graduate coach at Luella Middle School in Locust Grove.
Janet Bruce, 50, died of COVID-19 on August 12, family members reported on WSBTV.com. The mother of two was a physics teacher at Grayson High School in Gwinnett County. Bruce taught in Gwinnett County schools for 27 years. For 17 of those years, he taught Grayson. A lifelong resident of Gwinnett County, he graduated from Gwinnett Central High School and attended the University of Georgia.
Betty Hutcheson, 59, died Aug. 11 of COVID-19, according to his brother. She was a teacher of the early intervention program at Twin City Elementary School in Emmanuel County. This year I had to teach math. She was the mother of two children and loved to read, sing, and go to church.
Catherine Shuman, 38, he also died on August 11 after a battle with COVID-19, according to his family. She was a professor of science and social studies at Wacona Elem in Waycross. He also coached the Wacona Science Olympics team. “She will be remembered as an enthusiastic team player who made learning science fun for her students,” family members said in her wake.
Sandra Ingram, 45 years old died Aug. 1 of COVID-19, his sister-in-law said on social media. Ingram was a preschool teacher at Goddard School in downtown Atlanta and the mother of five children, the youngest at just 1 1/2 years old. Relatives said she was not vaccinated and asked people to shoot them.
Deborah Daniels, 66, died of COVID-19 on July 31, according to Johnson City Wire. She was a school bus driver for the Savannah-Chatham County School District. She was also the Union Steward of the local Teamsters branch. While he was in the hospital fighting the virus, he received Zoom calls with his union trying to help other bus drivers navigate the pandemic safely.
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