'I just ask God to help me': Texas funeral home crushed by death as U.S. COVID toll nears 500,000

'I just ask God to help me': Texas funeral home crushed by death as U.S. COVID toll nears 500,000

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Sunday is traditionally a quiet day for Chuck Pryor's Houston funeral home, but on this Sunday in February, almost a year after the global pandemic reached Texas, the phone was still ringing.

Pryor took the call: COVID-19 had taken yet another American life — one of more than 500,000 lost to the pandemic so far -- and another grieving family required the services of the exhausted funeral director and his staff.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Chuck Pryor wheels the casket of Dwight Morgan, 52, who died from complications from COVID-19, to the plot where he will be buried at Earthman Resthaven Cemetery.

"It's just mentally taxing," Pryor, 59, who runs a small funeral home business with his wife Almika, told Reuters earlier this month.

The sheer number of coronavirus deaths has overwhelmed many U.S. funeral homes. Some family-owned businesses have handled a crushing case load, with some seeing the same number of deaths in a couple of months as they would normally handle in a full year, said Dutch Nie, a spokesperson with the National Funeral Directors Association.

"Most funeral home directors know that it's a 24-hour, 365-day career, but you're just not used to every single day working those hours," Nie told Reuters.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Devonzic Clark, the operational technician at Pryority Funeral Experience, removes a body of a person who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19, from a hospital.

The pandemic has brought profound changes to the way Pryor must operate. Overloaded hospitals want bodies to be removed quickly. It has been difficult to find trained staff, caskets and protective equipment. And every day brings a multitude of phone calls from families in pain and distress.

As the virus showed no sign of releasing its grip and deaths mounted over the summer and in the fall, exhausted workers at Pryority Funeral Experience fell ill while others quit.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pryor ahead of a funeral.

"People quit because they mentally can't handle it," he said. "I pray God, -- just give me strength... I want to run away right now, to be honest ...I'm concerned about myself breaking down so I just ask God to help me."

Sometimes the stories he hears on the job haunt him.

Like the one he was told when he answered a COVID-19 call on a recent weekend in The Woodlands, a suburb of Houston.

A young woman in her 30s had just died from complications from the virus, a while after doctors performed a C-section to save the life of her twins as her condition deteriorated.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pryor picks up the body of a person who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19.

The following day, Pryor was having a hard time processing the tragedy, one of the hundreds of thousands that have marked a year of profound loss across the entire country, and the world.

"I slept with it last night and I hate that, you know, when you take them to bed," he said.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pryor and Keith Stephens make room for additional caskets which are being delivered and will be placed in Pryor’s storage unit.

Pryor said he had never been as busy as during the pandemic. The deaths the funeral home handled in 2020 were more than double those he would see in a normal year.

January was a terrible month. Even as hospitalizations in Texas fell by 10% last month from a 36% rise in December, coronavirus deaths increased by 48%, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data.

"I do pace myself and I do turn people down because I can only do so much," Pryor said.

His staff of four full-time employees and eight part-timers is feeling the strain, he said.

. Houston, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Samantha Emanuel reacts while viewing the body of her father, Samuel Emanuel Jr., 55, who died from complications from COVID-19, during a private viewing held for the family at Pryority Funeral Experience.

Embalmers and others who come directly into contact with bodies and are at higher risk of contagion, have been hard to find, Pryor said. And caskets are in short supply due to the pandemic. On a Thursday earlier this month, Pryor's uncle drove four hours from Dallas to deliver eight of them.

. Houston, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pryor prepares a casket for a man who is suspected to have died of COVID-19 as the state of Texas deals with power outages due to winter weather.

The job is so consuming, Pryor said, there is little time left to perform the most essential personal tasks, like cooking or spending time with his soon-to-be 10-year-old son.

While caring for those who lost loved ones in his community, Pryor's family was faced with their own grief. The virus took his nephew and his uncle while his wife lost her cousin and her aunt to COVID-19.

. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Shabaac Morgan holds on to the arm of her son, Marcel, as they leave the funeral of her husband and Marcel's father Dwight Morgan, 52, who died from complications from the COVID-19, at St. Paul AME Church. Shabaac’s motorcycle club, the Steel Heels, arrived to the funeral on their bikes to show their support.

Pryor grew up in rural Texas, the youngest of six and the only one of his siblings who did not attend segregated schools. His first brush with the funeral business was in the late 1970s when he would help illiterate members of his community with their mail and bills at the local funeral home on the first of every month.

"I got hooked in helping people when they need help the most," Pryor said.

. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Lila Blanks reacts next to the casket of her husband, Gregory Blanks ahead of his funeral.

Since he started his own business in 1984, celebrating life even in death had always been front and center in his profession, he said. But the coronavirus pandemic turned everything "upside down," making it even more difficult to help people through the grieving process.

In late January, Pryor and his team handled the funeral arrangements for Gregory Blanks, a 50-year-old COVID-19 victim who ran a heating and air conditioning business in the Houston area. He was a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys football team.

. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pallbearers carry the casket of Blanks to the plot where he will be buried next to his parents at San Felipe Community Cemetery.

In keeping with current restrictions to prevent infections, only a limited number of family and friends were able to attend the burial at San Felipe Community Cemetery where a preacher spoke next to a table lined with baseball caps for the Cowboys and other Texas teams.

Clad in a face mask sporting the logo of her husband's company, Blanks' wife Lila solemnly watched as some of Pryor's workers lowered the casket into the ground.

. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pryor hops down from the bed of a truck, which holds the casket of Blanks.

"People, they can't hug," Pryor said. "They cry and no one's there to wipe your tears."

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Slideshow

Workers prepare for the burial of Blanks.
. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Workers prepare for the burial of Blanks.

Family and friends gather for the graveside burial service of Blanks.
. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Family and friends gather for the graveside burial service of Blanks.

Helen Tyler, Blanks's aunt, wears a mask while holding a blue rose at her nephew's funeral.
. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Helen Tyler, Blanks's aunt, wears a mask while holding a blue rose at her nephew's funeral.

Bryanna Danas, 14, pays her respects at the burial site of her father, Gregory Blanks following his funeral at San Felipe Community Cemetery.
. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Bryanna Danas, 14, pays her respects at the burial site of her father, Gregory Blanks following his funeral at San Felipe Community Cemetery.

Veterans attend the funeral of a man who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19.
. Houston, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Veterans attend the funeral of a man who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19.

The funeral of a man who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19 is live-streamed.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

The funeral of a man who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19 is live-streamed.

Members of the Steel Heels Women’s Motorcycle Club arrive at the funeral for Dwight Morgan at St. Paul AME Church.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Members of the Steel Heels Women’s Motorcycle Club arrive at the funeral for Dwight Morgan at St. Paul AME Church.

Family and friends sit in socially distanced rows at the funeral of Dwight Morgan at St. Paul AME Church
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Family and friends sit in socially distanced rows at the funeral of Dwight Morgan at St. Paul AME Church

Almika and Chuck pick out an outfit for a person who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19 in Houston.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Almika and Chuck pick out an outfit for a person who died of causes unrelated to COVID-19 in Houston.

Pryor works from his storage unit which has power, as he deals with power outages due to winter weather.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pryor works from his storage unit which has power, as he deals with power outages due to winter weather.

Almika works from the car as she and Chuck deal with power outages due to winter weather in Houston.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Almika works from the car as she and Chuck deal with power outages due to winter weather in Houston.

Pryor checks on his funeral home as the state of Texas experiences widespread power outages and record-breaking temperatures.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pryor checks on his funeral home as the state of Texas experiences widespread power outages and record-breaking temperatures.

Mitchell Hodges and Clark carry a flower arrangement to a hearse ahead of the funeral for Samuel Emanuel Jr., 55, who died from complications from COVID-19.
. San Felipe, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Mitchell Hodges and Clark carry a flower arrangement to a hearse ahead of the funeral for Samuel Emanuel Jr., 55, who died from complications from COVID-19.

Pryor wants to stock up on caskets and ensure he has enough to accommodate demand as caskets grow scarce during the pandemic.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pryor wants to stock up on caskets and ensure he has enough to accommodate demand as caskets grow scarce during the pandemic.

Devonzic Clark makes preparations ahead of two funerals.
. Houston, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Devonzic Clark makes preparations ahead of two funerals.

Emanuel Jr's daughter Bria Emanuel, 27, touches the body of her father during a private viewing held for the family at Pryority Funeral Experience.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Emanuel Jr's daughter Bria Emanuel, 27, touches the body of her father during a private viewing held for the family at Pryority Funeral Experience.

Emanuel Jr.'s grandson Jasiah Beckles, 9, is offered words of comfort by Bridgette Emanuel and Samantha Emanuel during a private viewing held for the family.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Emanuel Jr.'s grandson Jasiah Beckles, 9, is offered words of comfort by Bridgette Emanuel and Samantha Emanuel during a private viewing held for the family.

Emanuel Jr.'s wife Bridgette Emanuel sits with Jasiah as Almika Pryor looks on during a private family viewing.
. Houston, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Emanuel Jr.'s wife Bridgette Emanuel sits with Jasiah as Almika Pryor looks on during a private family viewing.

Emanuel Jr's father, Samuel, reacts at the funeral of his son at Fifth Ward Missionary Baptist Church in Houston. Emanuel spoke at the funeral and said that no parent ever thinks that they’ll have to bury their child.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Emanuel Jr's father, Samuel, reacts at the funeral of his son at Fifth Ward Missionary Baptist Church in Houston. Emanuel spoke at the funeral and said that no parent ever thinks that they’ll have to bury their child.

Family and friends gather for Emanuel Jr.'s funeral.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Family and friends gather for Emanuel Jr.'s funeral.

A pallbearer holds a program as family and friends gather for Emanuel Jr.'s funeral.
. Houston, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

A pallbearer holds a program as family and friends gather for Emanuel Jr.'s funeral.