Latest news with #Abear
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Widow of fallen COVID cop seeks spot on memorial wall at NYPD headquarters: ‘Invisible bullet'
NYPD officers who died from COVID-19 during the pandemic deserve to be treated — and enshrined — as heroes, family and union officials are urging. Detective Raymond Abear's death in 2020 was as if he was struck by an 'invisible bullet,' his still grieving widow Catharine Abear told The Post. Abear was a Special Victims Division sleuth visiting crime victims in Queens hospitals when the virus invaded the borough's emergency rooms in early 2020. 'My husband went out there every day,' said Abear. 'Even though his job was dangerous, I didn't think this was going to take his life. 'At that very early stage . . . we knew very, very little about the disease and there wasn't a lot of understanding on how to protect ourselves . . . and masks were far and few between,' she added. 'So sadly, he caught it very early on.' When he died on April 13, 2020 at the age of 43, the couple had a 4-month-old daughter, Stella, and a 2-year-old son, Jackson. Abear's widow wants her husband and the other victims to be memorialized on the Hall of Heroes wall at NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza in lower Manhattan, where the names of detectives shot and killed in the line of duty and those who died as a result of illnesses connected to the 9/11 attacks are listed. 'For him to be honored by them, that's an accomplishment,' Abear said. 'We have young kids and I want them to stand in the hall at One Police Plaza, look up and say, 'That's my dad.'' Abear is among six detectives who died from COVID to be honored at a five-year memorial ceremony at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica Saturday. The others being honored are Cedric Dixon, of the 32nd Precinct Detective Squad, Jack Polimeni, of the Manhattan Warrant Squad, Jeffrey Scalf, of the Bronx Gang Squad, Robert Cardona of the 13th Precinct Detective Squad and Christopher McDonnell, of the Intelligence Bureau. All of them had about 20 years on the job each. 'They all really passed within about two weeks of each other, the six detectives,' Abear said. 'They were the first of the department to get sick.' There were nearly 70 members of the NYPD, including non-uniformed and uniformed employees, who died of the illness. Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro recalled how difficult it was for the union to secure protective equipment such as masks, gloves and sanitizer for members in the early days of the pandemic. The department didn't provide the equipment. 'Like all detectives, they faced the front lines of the pandemic with unwavering dedication protecting others even as they risked their own health,' he said. 'Now it is our duty to honor these detectives and ensure their legacies live on for generations.' The families also received line of duty death benefits and have their names on memorial walls, including at Ground Zero and in Washington, D.C.
New York Post
26-04-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Widow's last goal: Secure a place on NYPD heroes' wall
NYPD officers who died from COVID-19 during the pandemic deserve to be treated — and enshrined — as heroes, family and union officials are urging. Detective James Abear's death in 2020 was as if he was struck by an 'invisible bullet,' his still grieving widow Catharine Abear told The Post. Abear was a Special Victims Division sleuth visiting crime victims in Queens hospitals when the virus invaded the borough's emergency rooms in early 2020. 5 Widow Catherine Nicole Abear lost her police officer husband SVD Det. Raymond Abear to the Coronavirus five years ago. Leonardo Munoz 'My husband went out there every day,' said Abear. 'Even though his job was dangerous, I didn't think this was going to take his life. 'At that very early stage . . . we knew very, very little about the disease and there wasn't a lot of understanding on how to protect ourselves . . . and masks were far and few between,' she added. 'So sadly, he caught it very early on.' When he died on April 13, 2020 at the age of 43, the couple had a 4-month-old daughter, Stella, and a 2-year-old son, Jackson. 5 Abear's children were an 4 months and 2 years old when their father passed away from COVID. Leonardo Munoz Abear's widow wants her husband and the other victims to be memorialized on the Hall of Heroes wall at NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza in lower Manhattan, where the names of detectives shot and killed in the line of duty and those who died as a result of illnesses connected to the 9/11 attacks are listed. 'For him to be honored by them, that's an accomplishment,' Abear said. 'We have young kids and I want them to stand in the hall at One Police Plaza, look up and say, 'That's my dad.'' Abear is among six detectives who died from COVID to be honored at a five-year memorial ceremony at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica Saturday. 5 Detective Raymond Abear was a detective who frequently went into hospitals before he contracted COVID. Detectives' Endowment Association The others being honored are Cedric Dixon, of the 32nd Precinct Detective Squad, Jack Polimeni, of the Manhattan Warrant Squad, Jeffrey Scalf, of the Bronx Gang Squad, Robert Cardona of the 13th Precinct Detective Squad and Christopher McDonnell, of the Intelligence Bureau. All of them had about 20 years on the job each. 'They all really passed within about two weeks of each other, the six detectives,' Abear said. 'They were the first of the department to get sick.' There were nearly 70 members of the NYPD, including non-uniformed and uniformed employees, who died of the illness. 5 The mom with her two children as her youngest holds a picture of Abear in uniform. Leonardo Munoz 5 Detective Raymond Abear had a street renamed in his honor in 2022. Detectives' Endowment Association Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro recalled how difficult it was for the union to secure protective equipment such as masks, gloves and sanitizer for members in the early days of the pandemic. The department didn't provide the equipment. 'Like all detectives, they faced the front lines of the pandemic with unwavering dedication protecting others even as they risked their own health,' he said. 'Now it is our duty to honor these detectives and ensure their legacies live on for generations.' The families also received line of duty death benefits and have their names on memorial walls, including at Ground Zero and in Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Margaritaville hosted their annual Margarita University in Panama City Beach
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – Visitors in Panama City Beach are wasting away at Margaritaville. Saturday is National Margarita Day and Margaritaville is celebrating by hosting their annual Margarita University where they teach the audience how to craft the perfect margarita. Denise Abear has been a mixologist and bartender at Margaritaville restaurant in Panama City Beach since its opening in 2008. She says National Margarita Day marks the end of the slow season here. Rooms with a Purpose completes first makeover of the year 'It gets extra busy, but it's kind of like the last of like the locals and the snowbirds come in and before it starts getting really, really busy and Pier Park, it's like their last like hurrah to come hang out and not have to wait, you know, a long time to get into any, any restaurant really impaired part but us, us also,' Abear said. Abear says the key to making a perfect margarita isn't so much about how much you pour but keeping the recipe consistent. 'The consistency of your actual specks on your pour if you do not have enough tequila or too much sour mix or something like that, it just won't taste as good. You know, we want it to be the same every time,' Abear added. A little fun fact about the name margarita in English it's the name of the drink. In Spanish, it translates to the 'daisy flower'. It is also commonly used as a feminine first name. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
