Stolen Goodbyes

Stolen Goodbyes

Karen Rice

Welcome to the award-winning Stolen Goodbyes with Karen Rice, foreign affairs journalist, and podcaster. Each week inspiring wives, husbands, partners, children, and newly-weds intimately recount the shock and anguish of death to Covid 19 without warning or goodbye. Each season we push the boundaries to explore, explain and uncover a myriad of aspects of grief to Covid 19. Forced to grieve in isolation, these people detail needless mistakes and decisions that cost lives including patients being placed on Covid hospital wards when they were Covid-free or others condemned to an early death by the secret use of Do Not Resuscitate forms. Some w...

Love After Covid Loss: Emma Charlesworth’s Journey from Heartbreak to Healing

Love After Covid Loss: Emma Charlesworth’s Journey from Heartbreak to Healing

In this final episode of Love After Covid Loss, part of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast series, Emma Charlesworth returns to the show. Emma first opened the podcast in 2020, sharing her journey as a widow at just 39 after losing her husband, Charlie, to Covid-19. Charlie was only 45 when he passed.In this poignant and articulate interview, Emma reflects on her journey, from those first anguished, shocking days when Charlie left in an ambulance with a cough and never came home to navigating life as a

Dec 24, 2024 • 47:05

From Fairy Tale to Despair to Loving Again - My Life with Michael and Ryan by Rebecca Reilly

From Fairy Tale to Despair to Loving Again - My Life with Michael and Ryan by Rebecca Reilly

In this emotional yet uplifting episode of Stolen Goodbyes, host Karen Rice speaks with Rebecca Reilly from New Jersey, who shares her remarkable journey of love, loss, and finding hope again after unimaginable tragedy.Rebecca lost her “rough tough cream puff” husband Michael, a devoted father of two, to COVID-19, in December 2020. Just 47 years old, Michael fell ill and tragically passed away within 24 hours of showing symptoms. Rebecca opens up about the overwhelming grief of losing her best f

Dec 17, 2024 • 50:36

Elephants, White Roses, and Love After Covid Loss: Victoria's Tribute to Her Dad David Daniels

Elephants, White Roses, and Love After Covid Loss: Victoria's Tribute to Her Dad David Daniels

In this tender and bittersweet episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen Rice speaks with Victoria Daniels, 25, from Hertfordshire, about her cherished memories of her late father, David, a jack the lad and an animal-loving man, who tragically died from COVID-19 on January 2, 2021, at the age of just 69.Although her father suffered two strokes and dementia before the pandemic, Victoria’s words reveal the enduring bond between them. She recalls David’s protective and caring nature, likening him to his fa

Dec 10, 2024 • 32:08

Remembering Bob Pape: From Technicolor Love to Fostering New Beginnings

Remembering Bob Pape: From Technicolor Love to Fostering New Beginnings

In this moving episode, Amanda Pape shares how her life was once "Technicolor" with laughter, love, and adventure, alongside her larger-than-life husband Bob. But after his sudden death from Covid, age 53, life became like a "12-inch black-and-white TV"—a stark, difficult existence. Through fostering two children, Amanda has brought color back into her world, rebuilding a new, joyful family.Amanda also reflects on Bob's enduring philosophy: "Happiness is wanting what you get, not getting what yo

Dec 3, 2024 • 59:02

Kristie Cervantes: Love, Loss, and a Beautiful Tomorrow

Kristie Cervantes: Love, Loss, and a Beautiful Tomorrow

In this heartfelt episode, we hear from Kristie Cervantes, a 45-year-old teacher from Illinois, USA, as she recounts her journey through unimaginable loss and the discovery of love again. Kristie lost her beloved husband, Rey, in December 2020 to COVID-19. Just 42 years old, Rey was a devoted father of two, a special education teacher, and a man with a heart as big as his infectious laugh. He brought joy to everyone around him and lived for the moments he shared with his family, from dad-and-mom

Nov 26, 2024 • 54:38

The Two Crusaders Lynda & Charles: Love and Advocacy After Loss

The Two Crusaders Lynda & Charles: Love and Advocacy After Loss

The second part of Lynda Wardley’s story on Stolen Goodbyes is an inspiring narrative of love and resilience. After the profound loss of her father, Robin, Lynda found an unexpected connection with Charles Persinger, a fellow campaigner she met through their shared work with COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK. Their relationship blossomed from a shared space of grief and activism, turning into a beautiful partnership built on mutual respect and understanding.Lynda shares how she was initi

Nov 19, 2024 • 23:23

Love After Covid Loss: Robin's Legacy: A Daughter’s Tribute to Love, Resilience, and Advocacy

Love After Covid Loss: Robin's Legacy: A Daughter’s Tribute to Love, Resilience, and Advocacy

In this touching two-parter, we meet Lynda Wardley, a compassionate woman with a powerful story of love, loss, and resilience. Lynda, 59, opens up about her vibrant father, Robin, whom she lost to Covid in January 2021. In this first episode, she paints a vivid portrait of Robin, a meticulous maker and car enthusiast whose life was full of colour, intelligence, and energy.Lynda’s childhood memories brim with moments by her dad’s side—perched on the hood of a car he was repairing, or packing a ca

Nov 12, 2024 • 1:01:51

Love After Loss: Finding Hope in the Wake of Covid Tragedy

Love After Loss: Finding Hope in the Wake of Covid Tragedy

In this moving episode, we sit down with Charles Persinger, 59, from Swindon, who shares his powerful journey through loss, resilience, and rediscovery of love. Charles opens up about the unimaginable heartbreak of losing his mother, Susan (74), and his wife, Katie (51), both to Covid, within just six weeks of each other. He describes the depths of grief he faced, losing the two most important women in his life, and how he eventually made a choice that changed everything: to choose love over fea

Nov 5, 2024 • 27:39

Love After Covid Loss: The How and Why of Grief with Kayleigh O'Connor

Love After Covid Loss: The How and Why of Grief with Kayleigh O'Connor

In the opening episode of this new series of Stolen Goodbyes, entitled Love After Covid Loss, we sit down with grief coach and nervous system practitioner Kayleigh O’Connor (@goodgrief_uk) for a profound conversation on navigating life and new beginnings after a Covid-related loss.Episode highlights include:Grief’s Impact on Safety and Identity: Kayleigh explains how grief shakes a person’s sense of safety and self, leaving many wondering who they are without their loved one.Rebuilding Safety Th

Oct 29, 2024 • 48:58

Chris Riley

Chris Riley

In this powerful interview, Danielle Barnett charts the life of her wonderfully resilient dad Chris Riley, who despite the most challenging and heartbreaking circumstances, worked six days a week to give his daughters a loving home and a happy, memorable childhood. Widowed without warning and with four daughters to raise under the age of eight, Chris kept the family together despite the best efforts of social services. But when the pandemic broke years later, being self-employed

May 30, 2023 • 59:21

Peter Owen

Peter Owen

If Boris Johnson had locked down earlier, Peter Owen would still be alive today, this is the firm belief of his daughter Becky. Instead, this beloved father and grandfather caught Covid 19 shopping in Sainsbury’s on March 19, three days before Johnson belatedly put the country into lockdown. Becky vividly describes the void left behind by the death of her father, a proud Welshman from Aberystwyth who “always made time for people.”Equally as powerful is her description of the surreality of h

May 23, 2023 • 43:54

Pete Levy

Pete Levy

In a beautiful and wide-ranging interview, Sam Levy brilliantly articulates how distorted grief is impacting her world three years after the love of her life Pete died in the blink of an eye. “His life ended and nothing happened,” Sam says. “I can say I’m a widow, but I don’t believe what I’m saying, it’s just a word. Knowing and understanding that he’s gone are two different things.”Sam walks us through the colourful and fun life she shared with Pete, a larger-than-life, funny, grumpy, loveable

May 16, 2023 • 41:58

Anne & David Morrison

Anne & David Morrison

As a couple, Anne and David Morrison, 71, did everything together, living life their way, never letting obstacles stand in the way.But their plans to retire to Australia were never realised after David was hospitalised with Covid 19 in early 2020. Worried sick about her husband, Anne, who had received the all-clear from cancer a year earlier, died at home from sudden death on April 7. On hearing he’d lost his lifelong partner, David died from a Covid-induced heart attack 10 hours later. In

May 9, 2023 • 37:45

Anna Gibson

Anna Gibson

Treasured by her family, Anna Gibson may have been 94 but she was still a feisty, independent, and private personality who loved nothing more than being outdoors. But after a fall, Anna was admitted to a care home where her daughter Ruth believes she was denied basic care when the Covid 19 pandemic broke out. In a heartbreaking interview, Ruth explains how she has been left traumatised and haunted by her mother’s treatment and her own subsequent fight for the truth. Miscommu

May 2, 2023 • 59:42

Sucha Singh Hothi & Gurdev Kaur Hothi

Sucha Singh Hothi & Gurdev Kaur Hothi

It may be just over two years since Rab Sherwood lost her beloved parents father Sucha Singh Hothi, 85, and mother Gurdev Kaur Hothi, 75, to Covid 19, but this double loss combined with the manner of the loss and the family’s brutal treatment in hospital still haunts Rab. Emigrants from Punjab in India to the British midlands in 1965, Sucha was forced to work in a factory despite being a qualified lawyer, qualifications not recognised in the UK. These incredibly hard-working, family-orienta

Apr 25, 2023 • 35:35

John Leigh

John Leigh

With a career as an RAF engineer, and a vast vinyl collection comprising Vera Lynn to the Sex Pistols, John Leigh may have been an unconventional father but he left behind some unforgettable memories for his daughters. In this episode, Sioux Hill brings her dad’s memory to life through music, a passion they shared from her childhood days through to adulthood.Sioux walks us through their special relationship, the hardship she suffered losing her dad to Covid 19, and the subsequent surreality

Apr 18, 2023 • 28:51

The MacVicars

The MacVicars

It is a testament to Alastair MacVicar's strength of character, that he is alive and well in the world today, improving the lives of others.In the space of just 14 days, he lost his mother Jean, father Keith, and eldest sister Jayne to Covid 19. Alastair also lost his mother-in-law soon after. Then it was his turn. Covid 19 left him unable to string a sentence together. Alastair feared death. Then came an AstraZeneca vaccination, which left him with blood clots on both lungs. He recovered slowly

Apr 11, 2023 • 44:06

Chris Cooper

Chris Cooper

A singing prison officer, Rachael Lidgett finds solace in song following the loss of her role model dad Chris who she lost to Covid in December 2020. Growing up, her dad was her biggest singing champion, and she treats listeners to a soulful rendition of the songs that mean the most to her now, and how they help her to express her emotions.From his legendary Sunday roast dinners with loads of gravy, Beangate, his work ethic, to him walking into Accident and Emergency in his navy blue dressing go

Apr 4, 2023 • 56:49

Hefin and Valerie Williams

Hefin and Valerie Williams

This is an interview with Nikki Williams, a woman who lost her amazing mum Valerie and dad Hefin to Covid 19 within 11 days of each other in early 2020. Nikki was then diagnosed with incurable, secondary breast cancer. With great resilience, Nikki recounts the lovely whirlwind romance her parents enjoyed, how they loved to dance, her Welsh dad’s love of singing, their love of life and family, and their generosity to the many children they fostered, including Sarah who they adopted, and the

Mar 28, 2023 • 50:44

My quirky, loving mum Sharon

My quirky, loving mum Sharon

In this inspirational interview, Stella Hill describes how she has gone from the depths of despair and shock after losing her beloved mother Sharon to Covid 19 on Christmas Day in 2020 to a more positive place where she is now focused on continuing things her mother was interested in such as tracing her ancestry. Stella has gone from being consumed by errors made, examining doctor’s notes, and questioning how her mum got Covid, to celebrating her mother’s legacy, her quirky ‘Sharonisms’, wi

Mar 21, 2023 • 43:29

Surviving Grief - A special episode

Surviving Grief - A special episode

In this special and wide-ranging interview with four grief/trauma experts, we explore how the Covid 19 bereaved community is only beginning to deal with their loss now, three years after the event. This is because many bereaved people felt secure in a lockdown bubble where they didn't have to deal with reality, a reality that saw the catastrophic loss of a loved one without a goodbye, funeral, memorial, or support. Many bereaved people are experiencing what I've called 'distorted grief' because

Mar 14, 2023 • 1:29:06

Thomas Rice

Thomas Rice

This episode is dedicated to the memory of the loveliest of men - my father Tom Rice. With the help of my cousin Samantha Hamshere, we take listeners on a journey through the extraordinary life of a man with humble beginnings in County Kerry (Ireland) who went on to realise his dreams in London where he transmitted love and laughter, leaving behind an enormous legacy.This latest season of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast unpacks a troubling and as yet unexplored aspect of grief to Covid 19. I’v

Mar 7, 2023 • 46:21

Boris Johnson - Trauma

Boris Johnson - Trauma

On this special episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, people who lost their loved ones to Covid 19 in the first wave of the pandemic recount how they have been left traumatised by the exceptional circumstances of their loss. They feel they were not only robbed of a loved one but of everything that goes with a death. Loss to Covid 19 has been described as a grief like no other. That grief, affecting almost six million families across the world, is yet to be unpacked and understood. These amazin

Feb 24, 2022 • 33:07

Boris Johnson - Partygate

Boris Johnson - Partygate

On this special episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, people who lost their loved ones to Covid 19 in the first wave of the pandemic give their view on the Partygate revelations surrounding Boris Johnson and his government and Johnson's so-called 'Freedom Day' of 24 February 2020. Johnson is currently refusing to say whether he will resign if he is fined by the police for breaking Covid 19 lockdown laws with a string of parties at Downing Street. Since the party revelations emerged, Johnson's

Feb 24, 2022 • 36:24

Boris Johnson - Delayed Lockdown

Boris Johnson - Delayed Lockdown

In this special episode, people who lost their loved ones to Covid 19 in the first wave of the pandemic recount how Boris Johnson's delayed lockdown in early 2020, has impacted their lives forever. The UK's first confirmed cases were on 31 January 2020 but Johnson waited almost another two months before performing a screeching u-turn to put the country into full lockdown on March 23. This was all too late for the following people: Linsey Simmonds who lost her father Kevin Morans on May 3, Eileen

Feb 24, 2022 • 25:09

Ten months without our husbands

Ten months without our husbands

On this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen talks to Emma Charlesworth in Kent in the UK, and Pamela Addison in New Jersey in the USA, who both lost their husbands to Covid 19 in April 2020. Both of their husbands were in their mid 40s when they died. Despite the distance between them, the women have bonded through a shared sense of loss, support and grief including how both their husbands experienced their first Covid 19 symptoms on the same day, March 22.In this special intervie

Mar 2, 2021 • 50:29

James D Vance

James D Vance

On this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen is joined by Jerri Vance from West Virginia, USA, who lost her husband James to Covid 19 on New Year’s Day 2021.Jerri tells how James spent his life serving others, first in the Marine Corps, and then as a police officer, and was a proud and protective father who always went the extra mile to make his family's lives better. Tragically, Jerri relates how a week after developing a cough, a fit and healthy James had been hospitalised with d

Feb 23, 2021 • 39:58

Irma Marquez en Español

Irma Marquez en Español

En este episodio del podcast Despedidas Robadas, Karen está acompañada por el guatemalteco Mauro Márquez, quien perdió a su madre Irma, de 72 años, a causa del Covid 19, en Oklahoma, Estados Unidos, el 10 de enero de 2021.En un episodio desgarrador, Mauro cuenta cómo compartían una relación muy estrecha, ya que su madre era sorda y dependía de él para entender el mundo, mientras que ella le ayudaba con su miopía.Trágicamente, Mauro explica cómo esta madre tan generosa no pudo comunicarse con los

Feb 16, 2021 • 37:09

Irma Marquez

Irma Marquez

On this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen is joined by Guatemalan Mauro Marquez who lost his mother Irma, 72, to Covid 19, in Oklahoma, in the United States, on January 10, 2021. In a heart rending episode, Mauro recounts how they shared a very close relationship as his mother was deaf and relied on him to make sense of the world, while she helped him with his short sightedness. Tragically, Mauro explains how this most giving of mothers was unable to communicate with doctor

Feb 9, 2021 • 34:45

Muriel Bonner

Muriel Bonner

On this episode of The Stolen Goodbyes Podcast, Karen interviews Gordon Bonner, whose wife Muriel died on the 28th of April 2020. Gordon touchingly relates how they were long-distance pen pals before they embarked on a marriage that lasted for 63 years. Gordon was Muriel’s full-time carer after she developed dementia and before she was admitted to a care home after suffering a fall. Gordon movingly relates his anguish at being locked out of the care home before Muriel contracted Covid 19, the ca

Feb 2, 2021 • 35:23

Goff (Godfrey) Smith

Goff (Godfrey) Smith

On this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen sits down with Jane Smith who lost her husband Goff to Covid-19 in April 2020. Jane talks about the reputation Goff had in their town of Farringdon, Oxfordshire, as a first responder and painfully revisits the days and hours prior to his passing. A larger than life character, Goff loved nothing better than helping people out. Jane is comforted by the fact Goff didn’t suffer, but she feels guilty about the fact she couldn’t be with him in his

Jan 26, 2021 • 42:55

Leo Adams

Leo Adams

On this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen talks with Brielle Adams, the adoptive daughter of Leo Adams, who passed away due to Covid-19 in late March in the United States at the age of 85. Brielle recalls how Leo loved Brielle from the moment he met her and nicknamed her" "Piggy Boo."Leo went on to foster and adopt her despite being in his 60s. Brielle, who suffers from addition, explains how Leo became her rock in life and someone who always believed in her, always telling her: "Bri

Jan 19, 2021 • 30:08

Terry Haslam

Terry Haslam

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Katie Haslam from Wiltshire who lost her father Terry to COVID-19 on 8 April 2020. He was 70.Katie speaks fondly of her kind and generous father who doted on his baby granddaughter but who had suffered a stroke in later life. Katie speaks of her utter shock and confusion after hospital staff said her father was okay despite testing positive for COVID 19 before he died a few days later.The pain of his death was made worse for Katie’s mother

Jan 12, 2021 • 22:52

Barry Lewis

Barry Lewis

In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Debbie Lewis from Buckinghamshire who lost her father Barry to COVID-19 in April 2020. He was 74. His death came five months after she lost her mother Patricia to cancer. Debbie speaks fondly of her community-minded father who befriended the sick and lonely in his local area. A practical joker, Barry was never happier than when he was making people laugh. Debbie recounts the details of how her fit and healthy father fell ill with Covid 19

Jan 5, 2021 • 22:48

Irene Cain

Irene Cain

In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Carole Caudwell from Sussex, whose mother, Irene, survived four strokes only to lose her life to COVID-19 on 14 April 2020. She was 82. Carole speaks about the extraordinary relationship Irene had with the stars of Liverpool in her day including the Beatles and Cilla Black. After surviving strokes at the age of 81, her mother declared: “I’ve got too much to live for.”Carole recounts the struggle her mother went through with Covid 19 a

Dec 29, 2020 • 30:43

Violet Partington

Violet Partington

In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks with Michelle Rumble from Pinner who lost her mother Violet to COVID-19 on April 9 2020. Violet was 78. in this heart breaking episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Michelle recounts the shocking lack of care her selfless mother was subjected to after contracting Covid 19. Michelle describes how her teetotal, non smoker mother’s ultimate fear was dying.Hospital doctors told Violet her mother was comfortable and there would be no more news until t

Dec 22, 2020 • 31:18

Trevor Gardiner

Trevor Gardiner

In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen talks to Sally Gardiner, who tragically lost her husband to COVID-19 in April 2020 just four months after their wedding. Trevor was 59. Sally describes their whirlwind romance, fairy tale wedding in Leeds castle and honeymoon to Venice. She tells how Trevor gave her so much happiness and a future she always dreamed of.Trevor, a diabetic, began feeling fatigue and nausea before being admitted to hospital where he was told that if he continued to improve,

Dec 15, 2020 • 33:01

Anna Shewan

Anna Shewan

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Eileen McNamee from Scotland who lost her mother Anna to COVID-19 on May 21 2020. Anna had been a fit 91-year-old who travelled the world cycling with her husband in years gone by. Eileen relives some of her favourite memories as well as describing her mother’s battle with the unforgiving virus.Anna recounts how her elderly father didn’t want any carers coming into the house when he learned about the pandemic. To protect him, the family decided

Dec 8, 2020 • 28:55

Susan Porter

Susan Porter

On this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen speaks to Neil Robinson from Durham who lost his ‘whirlwind’ partner Susan Porter to COVID-19 on May 1 2020. She was 58. Neil talks about some of the favourite memories he shared with Susan from as early as their teenager years to a chance encounter a decade later that resulted in them reuniting for 30 years. Neil struggles with emotion as he describes how Susan fell ill and was hospitalised with Covid 19. Her condition improved for a time be

Dec 1, 2020 • 28:07

Roy Weeks

Roy Weeks

In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen talks to Shelly Weeks from Somerset, who lost her husband Roy to COVID-19 on April 11 2020. He was 73 years old. She describes the devotion the couple shared through the years despite nae sayers claiming the age gap between them meant the romance was doomed to fail. Shelly is angry and dissatisfied at the standard of care her husband, who suffered from dementia, received in the care home where he was resident. Her pain was compounded by the fact that fol

Nov 24, 2020 • 30:32

Kevin Morgans

Kevin Morgans

In this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen speaks to Linsey Simmonds in the Rhondda Valley in Wales who lost her father, Kevin Morgans, to COVID-19 on May 3 2020. He was 65.Linsey speaks with a beautiful fondness about her popular father who was due to move into a granddad flat at the back of her home where he looked forward to being woken up by his young grandson every morning.An anguished Linsey describes how the hospital spent a month saying her dad would be coming home with a care

Nov 17, 2020 • 29:11

John Langford

John Langford

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Georgina Forsythe from Warwickshire who lost her fireman father John to Covid 19 on May 7 2020.John caught the virus while on a cruise to South America with his wife Linda where they were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. The couple went ahead with the trip at the beginning of March after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised that it was safe to do so.A cruel and inhumane set of circumstances ensued which saw Linda forced to lea

Nov 10, 2020 • 36:06

Martin Addison

Martin Addison

Martin and wife Pamela had seven wonderful years together before he fell ill with Covid 19 while working as a speech and language pathologist in New Jersey in the United States. In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Pamela recounts how the couple met online and describes how inspiring Martin was as a husband, father and medical professional. Martin fell ill with a cough before being admitted to hospital where the initial feedback was very positive. However,his condition deteriorated, and the day h

Nov 3, 2020 • 31:54

Stuart Charlie Charlesworth

Stuart Charlie Charlesworth

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Emma Charlesworth who lost her husband Stuart, more commonly known as Charlie, to COVID 19 at the age of just 45. Emma speaks candidly about how Charlie battled and overcame testicular cancer when he was just 26, only to lose his life to Corona virus less than two decades later. Emma speaks movingly of how Charlie walked to an ambulance after suffering an apparent panic attack. Charlie never returned home. A hero dad, he left behind a

Oct 14, 2020 • 35:13

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