COVID-19

Malcolm and Sharon Bamford met in 1976 through a friend of his and one of her sisters. They dated for several years and loved going to discos in their hometown of Swansea, South Wales — it was the '70s after all. In 1980, they settled down and got married, and went on to have two kids, both boys. Malcolm had a daughter, Claire, from a previous marriage, but Sharon became a mom for the first time when she had Craig, now 37, and two years later Christian was born. Malcolm loved cars: For years he worked for Ford and then as a bus driver, and could often be found tinkering with a car — British Leyland motors were his favorite. He also enjoyed DIY, and although his projects were not always entirely successful, he was always pleased with his efforts. Sharon worked for years in the NHS as a healthcare assistant. Her passion was history: She loved watching foreign films and always had her head stuck in a book learning about the past. Above all else, they loved being grandparents. Their sons had said they didn't want children, but their eldest changed his mind and had a baby last year. Sharon cried tears of joy when she found out Craig and his partner were expecting, and they both doted on their grandson, Nahum, who was born last summer. But then at the end of March, Sharon fell ill. Ten days later, her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to intensive care at the Morriston Hospital in Swansea on March 30. She was intubated and put into an induced coma straight away. Just two days later, Malcolm and Christian, 35, both became unwell and were taken to hospital as well. Christian recovered and came home four days later, leaving the family elated. But 73-year-old Malcolm was intubated not long after, and died on April 19. Just two days after that, Sharon died too. She was 63. It is one the particular cruelties of the coronavirus that neither Sharon or Malcolm could see any of their other family members in the last month of their life, they were never able to hold their grandson one final time. “The joy they had when they became grandparents I think sums them up,” Malcolm and Sharon’s daughter-in-law, Victoria Morgan, told BuzzFeed News. “I still remember the day we called them and told them we were pregnant, I think Sharon thought we were joking at first, then the tears of joy stated — and all the nana shopping.” Morgan and her partner, Craig, were in elementary school together, so she had known Sharon and Malcolm from a young age. “They mean the world to me and everyone else,” she said. “They were both so kind, loving, would do anything for anyone.”