Mark Arnold, 53: Steven Curtis Chapman's 'Til the Blue'

More than 500,000 people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19 since the pandemic hit this country and the world just over a year ago. NPR is remembering some of those who lost their lives by listening to the music they loved and hearing their stories. We're calling our tribute Songs Of Remembrance.

In the last weeks in his life, the song "Til the Blue" by Steven Curtis Chapman with Gary LeVox took took on a special meaning for me and my fiancé, Mark.

Mark was comforted by the song's message — that family and friends can support each other in times of loss, even when we have no words to take the pain away, by simply being there to listen and cry together in grief.

I feel the same way. Mark was on a ventilator for 30 days. After his quarantine period, I was able to visit him in the hospital. I cherished the hours I spent with him, praying, playing music, and holding his hand before he passed from this life into the next. "Til the Blue" will always remind me of those precious hours. --Kim Hickey, fiancée

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