
Debbie Rusher, a longtime EMSA paramedic, is seen on duty with a therapy dog in this undated photo. Rusher died Monday in a Tulsa hospital of complications from COVID-19.
A Tulsa paramedic died Monday after spending more than a month in the hospital battling complications of COVID-19.
Debbie Rusher, who spent decades working for EMSA, had been placed on a ventilator around the Thanksgiving holiday, according to her friends and co-workers. Her struggle prompted numerous EMSA colleagues and other workers with the Tulsa Police and Fire departments to light up the night sky outside Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa earlier this month in a show of support.
An EMSA spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that Rusher died on Monday, while friends and co-workers of Rusher’s took to social media to grieve her death. She joined EMSA in 1999.
Dr. Greg Gray, a doctor at Saint Francis Hospital South, wrote in his own post about how Rusher was “out in our community working to help all of us” stay safe from COVID-19. How Rusher contracted the virus likely will remain unknown, he said, but he called her an “awesome, loving, caring paramedic” whose loss is “hitting our EMSA and EMS community HARD.”
In Rusher’s last public Facebook post on Nov. 26, she wrote, “I can’t fall asleep because of the anxiety of not being able to breathe and my oxygen levels drop while asleep.”
She said her doctors planned to use sleep medication and place her on a BiPAP, or bilevel positive airway pressure, machine at night “so I can hopefully sleep more than an hour or two and my body and mind can rest.”
“I want to thank everyone that have been (sending) prayers and good vibes my way. Just knowing u have family out there pulling for you makes the world of difference,” Rusher wrote.
After some encouraging updates throughout December regarding Rusher’s oxygen levels, her work partner, Derek Weinkauf, made public Facebook posts Dec. 23 and 27 seeking prayers. The latter of the two posts expressed hope that Rusher would have a “reboot” so she could breathe without the aid of a ventilator.
“Whether you just knew her in passing or had the pleasure of working side by side with her, she never expected you to do something she wouldn’t do herself,” Weinkauf wrote, later saying, “The number of lives Debbie has impacted is immeasurable quite literally.”
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Leanna Crutcher fought for family, change after son Terence's slaying

Pastor's wife. Mother. Music teacher. For much of her life, Leanna Crutcher was best known for those roles, which she pursued with quiet dedication.
But she had another side, as well. And when the situation demanded, it would show itself.
“Mom was a fighter. She’s where I got my fight from,” said Tiffany Crutcher, adding that everything changed for her mother after the loss of her son, Terence, in 2016.
Having witnessed her mother’s unlikely transformation into activist after her son was killed by police, Tiffany was not surprised to see that same fighting spirit come out again recently when facing COVID-19. But in the end, the virus proved too tough.
Leanna Crutcher, 67, died Jan. 14 of complications from COVID-19. She left behind her husband of 51 years, the Rev. Joey Crutcher, a daughter and son, and 10 grandchildren, including three of her late son’s children whom she was raising.
Debbie Rusher, EMSA paramedic

Debbie Rusher joined EMSA in 1999. Around Thanksgiving, her COVID-19 struggle became grave. Numerous EMSA colleagues and other workers with the Tulsa Police and Fire departments blared their lights outside Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa to show their support for Rusher, who died Dec. 28 at 56.
Dr. Greg Gray, a doctor at Saint Francis Hospital South, wrote how Rusher was “out in our community working to help all of us” stay safe from COVID-19. How Rusher contracted the virus likely will remain unknown, he said, but he called her an “awesome, loving, caring paramedic” whose loss is “hitting our EMSA and EMS community HARD.”
Dr. Yee Se Ong

A longtime Muskogee physician who was the first cardiologist to set up a practice in the community, Dr. Yee Se Ong died Dec. 21 at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa of complications from COVID-19.
For the past several months of the pandemic, Ong spent virtually every waking hour in the ICU at Saint Francis Hospital in Muskogee.
Ong was a native of Cabanatuan in the Philippines. He came to Muskogee in July 1979 and dedicated his life to caring for residents from the rural areas and small communities nearby.
Pam Rask, Tulsa Health Department

Pam Rask, 61, was serving as Tulsa Health Department's division chief of adolescent and child health when she died Dec. 26. A public Facebook post from relatives indicated Rask had been hospitalized and placed on a ventilator after testing positive for COVID-19.
Jimmy's Egg pioneer Loc Van Le

Loc Van Le, who purchased a single breakfast cafe in 1980 and turned it into a multi-state franchise, died of complications from the coronavirus Dec. 10, 2020. He was 75.
As it mourns the passing of its patriarch, the Le (pronounced Lee) family is keeping vigil for its matriarch Kim, who remains hospitalized with the virus.
Oklahoma education advocate Melvin Todd

Melvin R. Todd, Ph.D, died Dec. 2 after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 87.
Todd was one of Oklahoma’s most consequential educators, leaving a trailblazing legacy of leadership through racial integration.
Former longtime Oklahoma City pastor Nick Harris

The Rev. Nick Harris, former longtime minister of First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, died on Nov. 23. He was 81.
His life story intersected with the broader story of the tragedy of April 19, 1995, and the triumph of the "Oklahoma Standard" that prevailed in its aftermath.
Jerad Lindsey, Tulsa FOP chairman

Jerad Lindsey, 40, chairman of the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police, died in October after suffering complications of COVID-19, the agency reported.
He had started his career with Tulsa Police Department in 2005 and worked as patrol officer. He recently was serving also as Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police vice president.
Lindsey is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and two sons.
Oklahoma City preservation leader Bill Gumerson

Bill Gumerson, 76, who co-founded Friends of the Mansion, a group that has helped support upkeep of the Governor’s Mansion, died on Thanksgiving from COVID-19.
As president of Preservation Oklahoma he led a successful capital campaign to renovate the Overholser Mansion.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Jeff Sewell

Capt. Jeff Sewell, 58, had been hospitalized since Sept. 5 due to COVID-19, and he died at Texoma Medical Center in Denison, Texas, on Sept. 26, according to a social media post.
“It is with deepest regret that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol announces the passing of one of our active duty members,” the agency wrote the post.
Tulsa Public Schools electrician Michael Angelo

Michael Angelo, an electrician who worked in the maintenance and plant operations department and joined Tulsa Public Schools in 2007, died in October and is the district’s first COVID-related death.
Angelo’s wife, Violet Angelo, also became ill from COVID-19 but has recovered. Violet Angelo is a custodian at TPS and joined the district in 2005.
Former Jenks East Elementary teacher Sandy Majors

From Michael Overall: "My Aunt Sandy — you might remember her as Sandra Majors, Ph.D., who taught for many years at Jenks East Elementary — tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-August."
She died Aug. 28.
QT employee Israel Sauz

Israel Sauz, a 22-year-old Broken Arrow resident, died in April. He left behind a wife of less than one year and their first child, a son born in March, among other family, friends, co-workers and even regular customers at the QuikTrip store where he worked east of downtown Tulsa.
Sauz, known as “Izzy” to some, was a night assistant manager at the QuikTrip at 1022 S. Utica Ave., and his death raised panic and outrage among fellow employees and some customers.
State's first COVID-19 death

A Tulsa County man became the state’s first resident to die from COVID-19 in mid-March, one day after he tested positive for the disease.
Tulsa County health officials said that it also was the first case of community spread in the county. The man was identified by friends and peers as Merle Dry.
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