Whether they were children who were just starting their journeys, or adults who lived the better part of a century, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in millions of lives lost prematurely.

More than 25,000 Virginians died from COVID, including 99-year-old Alan Zimm of Richmond , who moved to the U.S. after surviving Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.

Nearly five years after Alan’s death, Halina Zimm , 97, his wife of more than 70 years, continues to remember what a good man he was.

“He loved people,” she said. “He was a very decent man, decent human being, absolutely.”

Halina Zimm, 97, poses for a portrait while holding a picture of herself and her late husband, Alan Zimm. Nearly five years after Alan’s death, Halina continues to remember what a good man he was. The couple were both Holocaust survivors and were married for more than 70 years.

Born in Poland as one of nine siblings, Alan Zimm was among numerous family members captured by Nazi invaders during World War II.

Zimm was taken to Lodz, a large, Jewish community in Poland, which had been occupied by German troops.

He was forced to work as a slave laborer across several camps in Poland and Germany before being liberated in 1945.

Sol, one of Zimm’s older brothers, was the only other family member to survive the concentration camps after being sent to Auschwitz.

After returning to Poland, Alan Zimm met his future wife, who was also a Holocaust survivor. They were married in 1948 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1949 after being sponsored by a Jewish organization.

The Zimms spent a couple of days in New York before making their way to Richmond. Alan Zimm spent several decades working as a tailor in the area, often sharing his story with people who came into the shop.

“He was a very good tailor,” Halina said. “There was nothing he loved more than going to his work. He used to tell (customers) his experiences about the way he survived, and people liked him a lot.”

According to his wife, Alan loved reading about history and was an excellent ping-pong player.

Despite spending years in forced labor camps, Halina said her husband was a loving man who never became hateful.

“When the war was over, he was never a bitter man, never,” she said. “He was very optimistic, always optimistic, and that’s why he survived. But he also survived because people helped him out.”

Alan worked until he was 97 after experiencing bouts of memory loss. A couple of years later, he fell and broke his hip.

Halina Zimm's late husband, Alan Zimm, moved to the U.S. after surviving Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. He spent several decades working as a tailor in the area, often sharing his story with people who came into the shop. “There was nothing he loved more than going to his work,” Halina said.

While recovering from surgery, Alan contracted COVID. He died on April 18, 2020, just over one month before he would have turned 100.

Due to visiting restrictions at his care facility, Alan’s family was unable to visit him during his final days.

“He died alone,” Halina said. “It’s a very sad thing; I don’t like to think about it very much.”

Only a handful of relatives were able to attend his funeral because of the rules on gatherings at the time.

Halina’s sister Helen — who married Alan’s brother Sol — died earlier that month from a non-COVID-related illness, with her funeral also being kept small due to pandemic restrictions.

With everything the Zimms endured, they were able to survive and make the most out of their lives after they arrived in Richmond.

“I have very good memories about my husband,” Halina said. “He lived a very good life when he came here.”

‘I feel a lot of gratitude’

Jesse Russell, 31, of Henrico County, was on the other side of the country when COVID struck the U.S.

Living north of Seattle, Russell was in a support group for post-traumatic stress disorder just before the pandemic when she met Kenzie Ely. The two became close friends as they made their way through the program.

“She was the very first person that taught me how to love with no borders or measures,” Russell said. “Very compassionate, boisterous, vivacious, animated.”

At her home in Henrico County on Friday, Jesse Russell poses for a portrait with a picture of her friend Kenzie Ely. Nearly four years after Ely died, Russell remembers her as a wholesome person who was big into art and loved people and animals. “She was the one that didn’t judge me,” said Russell, whose grandmother died a month before Ely after suffering a stroke.

During the early stages of the pandemic, Russell and Ely found it difficult to get support.

“It was really hard to get the help we needed for our PTSD,” Russell said. “That’s what made us get so close; we could really rely on each other.”

When Ely was pregnant with her second child, she tested positive for COVID. She went to the hospital as an at-risk patient but was optimistic that she would be out soon.

Russell and Ely texted back and forth for a few days until the messages stopped coming from Ely. Russell eventually found out that one of her best friends had slipped into a coma.

Days later, Ely died in April 2021 at age 28. The doctors were able to save her son, who was born months prematurely.

Under the guidelines at the time, Russell was unable to visit her friend.

“Even then, it was very restricted,” she said. “I never got to even talk to her, say goodbye or see her.”

Russell was also dealing with another loss during that period; her grandmother died a month before Ely after suffering a stroke.

Photos of Kenzie Ely lie atop a picnic table in Henrico County on Friday. When Ely was pregnant with her second child, she tested positive for COVID. She and her friend Jesse Russell texted back and forth for a few days until the messages stopped coming from Ely, who had slipped into a coma. Days later, Ely died in April 2021 at age 28. The doctors were able to save her son, who was born months prematurely.

Her family made the tough choice to place her grandmother in hospice care at home, so they could say goodbye instead of a facility with visiting restrictions.

“Many of us sometimes think she could have lived if we could have put her in the nursing care facility without that fear,” Russell said. “But it was hard; there’s a lot of hard decisions that needed to be made because of the regulations at the time.”

“Some doctors knew that maybe the stroke was so far gone that we made the right choice just to bring her home,” she added.

In addition to her PTSD, Russell was battling addiction. Russell struggled to handle her grief after losing her grandmother and friend, so she went to Texas in August 2021 to get away and to get sober.

After a couple of setbacks and more soul-searching, Russell hit the road last July, this time to Richmond. She fell in love with the area and is now managing a Dog Krazy store.

Nearly four years after her friend died, Russell remembers Ely as a wholesome person who was big into art and loved people and animals.

“She was the one that didn’t judge me,” Russell said. “I failed several times to get sober, and she was the one that kept cheering me on. She just made light of everything in a really loving way.”

At times, Russell felt resentful and sad about COVID and its effects, but she is thankful that things are in a better place now.

“Thank God, thank the universe that we’re not in that place anymore,” she said. “I feel a lot of gratitude, and I accept what happened.”

03-20-1963 (cutline): Real Blooms Are Coming. These plastic flowers that have seemed to bloom in planters on the median strip of Broad St. in the past years will give way this year to real begonias--pink, red and white. Downtown Retail Associates announced today plans to replace the ivy int he planters with the begonias next month. The city will maintain the flowers until fall, when the ivy will be replanted. The group said it will continue this year the practice of having flower carts on sidewalks during Garden Week.

09-03-1954: Broad and Bowe Streets, looking west.

02-22-1955 (cutline): New Motorists' Guide--this large sign recently installed at Ryland and Broad Streets, is designed to prevent accidents and help northbound motorists on U.S. Routes 1 and 201 in Richmond keep on the proper route. The "next right" part of the sign flashes constantly. The Traffic Engineering Bureau said that sign was installed to prevent accidents at Bowe and Broad, where drivers frequently discover they are supposed to turn but are in the wrong lane.

08-15-1967 (cutline): New signal for Left Turns This type of new traffic signal to regulate left turns has been installed at the intersection of Bowe and West Broad Sts. The signal, which faces eastbound traffic on Broad, is designed to give motorists a chance to make left turns without guessing what westbound traffic is doing. If east bound motorists have a flashing green, west boung traffic has a red light. If eastbound motorists have a flashing amber, westbound traffic has a green light and left turns should be made at the motorist's risk.

05-24-1957 (cutline): New Help for the Motorist Motorists headed west on Broad St. now find some helpful information in the form of new route markers hitting them right in the eye. The large markers, suspended over the street, give directions to Rts. 1, 301 and 60. City Hall is in the background. The new markers are at 11th and Broad Streets.

11-27-1954 (cutline): Disputed passage--This performance at Sixth and Broad Streets wasn't unusual in the downtown traffic scene yesterday. Vehicle blocking crosswalk has attempted right trun from Broad but is blocked by traffic ahead on Sixth Street.

01-07-1955 (cutline): Appraiser H.P. Slusser (left), with counter in hand, checks pedestrian traffic on Broad Street.

06-03-1968 (cutline): A place to Relax on Broad Street W.E. Cash of Hopewell tries a bench placed on Broad Street today by the city of Richmond. Several benches were placed ont he south side of Broad between Second and Fourth Streets on an experimental basis. If the trial proves statisfactory, more benches will be located in busy downtown areas, according to City Manager Kiepper.

04-28-1966: I n April 1966, Mrs. Arch Clegg inspected newly planted flowers on a median along Broad Street in Richmond. Two varieties of holly and more than 1,000 petunias were being planted on Broad that week between Adams and Eighth streets. The displays, sponsored by Downtown Retail Associates, were to stay in the planters until fall.