ODESSA, Texas — Prayers, grieving and 52 bell rings signifying each week we've been living through COVID-19, honoring those who've fallen victim to the virus.
"I'm here to honor him and the community." Jo Boring, COVID-19 survivor said.
For Jo Boring, honoring him in Odessa tonight was a way to bring closure.
Her husband died on November 17, 2020, when the virus was at a peak in our community.
She had the virus too, only she survived it.
"And I didn't get to go with my husband to the hospital. I suffered from COVID myself, but I was able to stay home. It was really a dark time," Boring said.
The two were married for 30 years.
Jo says the hardest part was that her husband had dementia and didn't know why he was in the hospital.
"The one conversation that we did have, well i was able to tell him I love you and I miss you and I wish I was there to take care of you and he said I love you too, so that's my best memory," Boring said.
She, like all these Odessans here are looking for hope and coming to peace with what we've been through.
"Will not take life for granted. You never know from moment to moment what might happen," Boring said.
"Light pierces the darkness," Russell Tippin, MCH CEO said.
And that light is what will get us through the end of this pandemic.
The Odessa parks department released over 300 lanterns on the water at the end of the memorial service.
They floated on the water for an hour for people to see and then they were taken out of the water so that the birds wouldn't get to them.