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Virus claims Black morticians, leaving holes in communities

A tin plaque marks the grave of William Penn Troy Sr. at Hillcrest Cemetery outside Mullins, S.C., on Sunday, May 23, 2021. Troy died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of many Black funeral home directors to succumb during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Funeral director Shawn Troy stands for a portrait at Hillcrest Cemetery outside Mullins, S.C., on Monday, May 24, 2021. His father, William Penn Troy Sr., who developed the cemetery and is buried there, died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of many Black funeral directors to succumb during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) A photo of the late William Penn Troy Sr., second from right, and his fellow Marion County Council members, hangs on the wall of his office in Mullins, S.C., on Saturday, May 22, 2021. The funeral director died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of many Black morticians to succumb during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) A photograph of the late William Penn Troy Sr. with former President Barack Obama hangs on the wall of Troy's office in Mullins, S.C., on Sunday, May 23, 2021. Over the years, Troy, a funeral director, had served as a county commissioner, local school board member and church treasurer. But those were just his official duties. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) The sun rises behind a sign dedicating part of U.S. 76 in Mullins, S.C., to the late William Penn Troy Sr. on Monday, May 24, 2021. Over the years, Troy had served as a county commissioner, local school board member and church treasurer. But those were just his official duties. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Shawn Troy stands beside the first hearse ever owned by his late father behind the family's funeral home in Mullins, S.C., on Saturday, May 22, 2021. William Penn Troy Sr. died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of many Black morticians to succumb during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Cards promoting COVID-19 vaccination sit on a table inside Troy's Funeral Home in Mullins, S.C., on Sunday, May 23, 2021. In the summer of 2020, both William Penn Troy Sr. and his son were diagnosed and hospitalized with COVID. The elder Troy never returned home. And two weeks after his father’s burial, Shawn Troy presided over the first funeral without him. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Funeral director Shawn Troy wipes away perspiration during a graveside service at Hillcrest Cemetery outside Mullins, S.C., on Monday, May 24, 2021. His father, William Penn Troy Sr., died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of many Black morticians to succumb during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Funeral director Shawn Troy comforts a distraught mourner during a graveside service at Hillcrest Cemetery outside Mullins, S.C., on Monday, May 24, 2021. His father, William Penn Troy Sr., died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of many Black funeral directors to succumb during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Shawn Troy consults with mourners on arrangements for a viewing at his family's funeral home in Mullins, S.C., on Sunday, May 23, 2021. The Troys had agreed that Shawn would take over the business during the next few years. But he had expected to do so with his father’s counsel. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Funeral director Shawn Troy attends a lunch in honor of his late father, William Penn Troy Sr., pictured at background right, in Mullins, S.C., on Saturday, May 22, 2021. “The thing about me and my Dad was, we woke up together, we came to work together and then went home and ate together and talked late at night,” he says. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) A photo of the late William Penn Troy Sr. stands on an easel during a ceremony in Mullins, S.C., on Saturday, May 22, 2021, to dedicate a local road in his honor. The funeral director and local leader died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of dozens of Black morticians to succumb during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Mortician Shawn Troy stands at the grave of his father, William Penn Troy Sr., at Hillcrest Cemetery outside Mullins, S.C., on Sunday, May 23, 2021. The elder Troy, who developed the cemetery, died of COVID-19 in August 2020, one of many Black funeral directors to succumb during the pandemic. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over it,” he said. “But I’ll get through it.” (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)