HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Zeeland resident Ed Link remains unpersuaded by those who say Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay home” orders are too strict.
“It’s just kind of frivolous to hear people talking about their crabgrass preventer, and not being able to have their landscaper and blah, blah, blah, because it’s much bigger than that,” he told WHTC. “These things are so immaterial to what’s going on.” (Listen to the full interview.)
COVID-19’s toll is personal to Link and his wife, because it now includes the death of their brother-in-law, John T. Barr, 76. The retired Detroit police officer remained active as the business agent and analytical researcher for the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) until his death on April 4, 2020, after what his family called “a brief and heroic fight with COVID-19.”
Barr, father of six, step dad of two and grandfather of 15, had a huge extended family and was known by many as Uncle Tim or just “Sir.” He had several West Michigan connections, in addition to the Links, earning his bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, then graduating from the Kalamazoo Police Academy in 1968.
One of Barr’s sons, also a Detroit police officer, is hospitalized with COVID-19, Link said, and his nephew’s 10-year-old son is being tested for COVID-19.
“That’s three generations that this has affected, right off the bat,” Link said. “This is a very sad thing. We have to remember this is a terrible thing. This isn’t like catching the flu and you get over it, in many cases.”
Link said COVID-19 has left his Barr’s widow, Donna Werner, “in a quandary. She’s in quarantine, of course, and trying to find the house payment, bills to pay et cetera,” adding that he called WHTC to remind people, especially those in families where one person handles the financials, to get their affairs in order before anything happens, COVID-19 or not.
“Make sure you know where the bank accounts are, and the safe-deposit box — and give the authority to who is going to be the caretaker or the decider,” he said. “Share with your partner where the 401K is, if you have a will, if you have a trust. Taking the David Carrier approach will be time well spent.”
In his family, he said, his wife is the primary bill payer, but since John Barr’s death, they’ve reviewed all their own accounts and paperwork.
COVID-19 robbed his family of closure Link said. It’s hard being far from his sister-in-law and being unable to travel to visit her, though they are staying connected via video chats. It’s not the same as being there, he said or having a traditional gathering to honor the dead.
John Barr “was a great guy. We all called him ‘sir’ because, that’s what everyone called him, I guess,” Link said with a soft laugh. “He was just a great guy.”
“It’s sad for the person who died and it’s sad for the people they left behind,” he said. “We’ve been lucky over here on this side of the state. We’re not in the war zone, yet.”
He said he’s been watching the numbers go up in West Michigan.
“We don’t know and we don’t have a care [about COVID-19] — to not get my bird seed and my crabgrass preventer is kind of a …” he paused. “We’ve got to look at the bigger picture, I think, and be content that we’re still here and happy, I guess.”
Losing a loved one to COVID-19, Link said, is a terrible situation to go through, especially when you’re “not able to honor a person you loved.”
Which is why he calls people worried about getting crabgrass preventer or professional lawn care frivolous.
