Obituary

The family of former North Carolina and NBA big man Eric Montross says he has died after a cancer fight. He was 52. The school released a statement from the family Monday morning saying Montross died Sunday surrounded by loved ones at his Chapel Hill home.

The onetime conservative Democrat switched late in his career to the Republicans and then got elected to Congress. Former campaign aide and close friend Brad Crone said Faircloth died Thursday at his home in Clinton.

He founded Tiger Management in 1980, one of the nation's first hedge funds, which grew to more than $21 billion dollars in assets.

More than 40% of the people who’ve passed away from COVID-19 in North Carolina lived in nursing homes or residential care facilities. Jane Klein was one of them. She died in Fayetteville on Jan. 30. She was six days away from her 68th birthday.

Aurea Yolotzin Soto Morales, known to her friends and family as Yoshi, was a fun-loving, studious girl. Born and raised in Durham, she attended second-grade at Creekside Elementary and at 8 years old, had a long list of interests.

Jamie Seitz taught physical education for 25 years, mostly at the Lincoln Charter School in Denver, North Carolina. He was a beloved coach, known for his charisma, playfulness and respect for others. He was 51 when he died of COVID-19. His family and school community have mourned his loss together.

On March 24, 2020, COVID-19 claimed its first recorded life in North Carolina. Since then, the pandemic has upended our communities, our families, and our lives in devastating ways. This series aims to tell the life stories of some of those we've lost too soon.

A native of Windsor, North Carolina, Tootie Robbins is one of the best football players to come out of East Carolina University. He played 12 years in the NFL. Robbins died after contracting COVID-19 in August 2020.

Billy Richard Bingham Jr. – a son, sibling, Marine, and inmate number 0031427 - grew up in Gaston County. His simple life turned tragic in 2005 when he stabbed a man, who later died. For that, Bingham Jr. spent years at the Albemarle Correctional Institute, where his family believes he died of COVID-19 last year.

Except for his college years, James Hamilton lived his entire life in the tiny Rutherford County town of Spindale. He couldn’t imagine making anywhere else home, said friends and family. After decades in roles including town police officer, mayor pro team and deacon of his church, many in town couldn’t imagine living without him, either. Now they are, though. Hamilton, 55, died October 14 from complications related to COVID-19.