Coloradans light candles for loved ones lost during COVID-19

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Funerals are canceled for the time being and it’s impossible to cry on a loved one’s shoulder from six feet away -- but one Colorado family has found a way to honor their passed loved one and bring some togetherness during this uncertain time.

When Steve Gard’s parents fell ill to COVID-19, he waited anxiously.

"There was no preexisting condition, there was no writing on the wall," Steve told KRDO.

As his mom got better, he told us his step-dad of 30 years, Dave Kusuda, got worse. With the ventilator on high, and no visitors allowed in the hospital room, he shut his eyes for the last time.

"My mom was under isolation orders in her apartment, and we were all spread out across Colorado and even other states," Steve told us.

They got David's ashes, but couldn't spread them together. The family needed another way to honor the man who gave them so much.

Steve and his family each lit a candle inside their homes at five o'clock last Monday.

"Just being together in spirit. That’s all we could do," he said.

They told their friends to do it too.

"This was a healthy 73-year-old man and it just snuck up and took him away from us. So we encouraged all of our friends and coworkers to share that story," Steve explained. "And they did."

All of those hearts came together to build an even stronger flame, and not only for David.

Jennifer Draper, a friend of Steve's wife, shared the idea far and wide.

"There are so many people that are lost or who have lost people, and it's really hard to connect right now. Lighting a candle on a Monday night, it's something we all can do, it’s super simple," said Jennifer.

Already, one week later, more than seventy candles were sparked across Colorado Monday night at five o’clock.

"We kind of feel honored in a way that someone took this idea that helped our family and said, let's help other families, and let's help this entire community heal from this," Steve said.