Editor’s note: This story is part of a series about Oklahomans who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read the stories of other Oklahomans here. Have you lost a loved one to COVID-19? Help us tell their story.
Taylre Janak always looked forward to visiting her grandmother, Charlene Christ, in Hallettsville, Texas, every summer where a new slip and slide would be waiting and Blue Bunny ice cream with strawberries was a regular treat.
“Those visits were always fun and a highlight of the summer,” Janak said.
About eight years ago, Christ relocated to Tulsa, and eventually moved to a nursing facility. She contracted COVID-19 in November 2020 and died at age 75.
Christ’s first husband died at an early age and she was faced with having to rebuild her life, Janak said. Christ remarried and “picked herself up. My grandma was a fighter.”
Janak last saw her grandmother in July 2020, when the nursing home allowed visits through a window with loved ones. The family waited until vaccinations were widely available before holding a funeral for Christ on May 1.
The recent Christmas holiday included memories of Christ hosting bingo games at her house, always with the job of calling “bingo,” Janak said.
“She was a loving and kind mother and grandmother who is dearly missed,” Janak said.
