Sammy Oakey, a funeral home director, with 44 years of experience, shared the challenges of his job on Twitter and had no clue it would reach so many people. As president of Oakey’s and its six chapels across the Roanoke Valley, Oakey looks at the new coronavirus deaths every day. I've worked here for 44 years and have never seen such a tragedy. “I’m afraid with the holidays coming that they are going to continue to increase,” explained Oakey. “Unfortunately, deaths follow hospitalizations but there is a significant lag between when we expect to see high case-count reflected in our mortality data.”Morrow said she is unsure of what’s next.

“People need to slow down, stop, pause,” Oakey’s Funeral Home owner Sammy Oakey said. You see, a funeral procession is not about getting to the cemetery at the same time. A funeral procession is a chain of connection, a visible sign of the invisible bond of grief. And if their grief doesn’t stop the world, at least it should stop traffic. Although death is what keeps the funeral home in business, Oakey hopes the post’s message doesn’t die any time soon.