Dallas skyline goes amber to honor COVID-19 victims

DALLAS - President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris paid tribute to the victims of COVID-19 in a ceremony that took place at the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial.

There were similar tributes across the nation and in North Texas. In Downtown Dallas, the skyline lit up the color of amber in honor of COVID-19 victims.

The Tuesday memorial was to humanize the numbers.

With thousands of deaths in North Texas due to COVID, people came together to honor those who are no longer with us.

The U.S. on Tuesday reached a grim milestone of 400,000 deaths due to COVID-19.

Across Dallas, there were tributes to remember the more than 1,800 lives lost in the county and tens of thousands more around the state.

Kaitlyn Urenda-Culpepper lives in Dallas. Her mother was a registered nurse who died due to COVID in El Paso in July.

"My mom's name was Genevieve Martinez. She was 62 years old," she said. "She was compassionate, so merciful and loving and everybody loved to talk to her."

A floral arrangement was placed at the corner of Hall Street and Turtle Creek Boulevard.

Members of the Shepherd of Life Lutheran Church church bell choir in Arlington also gathered for the moment of healing.

The city of Irving recently unveiled the Yellow Heart Memorial showing the faces of those who have died, accompanied by the names of dozens of others.

As the sun set across Dallas, Reunion Tower was lit with an amber flame to honor those who have died as other buildings of the Dallas skyline also shared in the glow of remembrance and unity.

Don Timm is an ER physician in Dallas who sees death often. He says losing someone he knew personally impacts him in a different way.

"Our close and dear friend Joe passed away last Saturday a week ago suddenly, and turned out it was from COVID complications," he said. "Joe we knew personally, talked to him every day, texted him every day, did taco Tuesday with him every Tuesday. Everyone misses him."

Health officials say while we have had hundreds die in Dallas and Tarrant counties this month, deaths are steady when compared to the pandemic.