Beloved mother who fostered kids, fought for civil rights dies of coronavirus

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A beloved Cobb County woman is among nearly 700 people who have died from the coronavirus across the state.

Channel 2′s Justin Wilfon talked to Miriam Ward Culver’s family about her legacy and the struggle to save her life.

“When they first started talking about COVID-19 and this virus that is attacking everybody, she said: 'Don’t you all worry. God has us covered,'" Culver's daughter Crista Ryan said.

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But then, Culver herself got sick. The coronavirus was more dangerous for Culver because she had a preexisting heart condition and wore a pacemaker.

Culver died this week at age 75.

"I couldn't compare her with anyone on the earth because she was a unique kind of woman," Ryan said.

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She was the kind of woman who was a leader in her church, the Tabernacle Church in Austell. She was also a foster parent to several children and fought for civil rights.

“We’re finding out so many things that she did that we didn’t even know," daughter Shiela Sands said.

Culver's son, Stephen Culver, said that after his mother was admitted to Cobb Wellstar Hospital, they fought for her.

“We were providing the doctors with recommendations that we had been receiving from our research," Stephen Culver said.

But Wellstar told Wilfon that fighting the virus is still a struggle with so many unknowns.

Dr. Danny Branstetter, the director of infectious disease at Wellstar said that doctors have to be mindful not to skip or ignore the safety of patients and harm them with unproven therapies.

“There’s so little that we know about this disease process, and yet our priority has been to care for every patient with compassion and empathy," Wellstar Senior Vice President Jill Case said.

Miriam Culver was laid to rest yesterday in Cobb County.

“She left a legacy, and she just touched the lives of so many people," Stephen Culver said.

36-year-old mother of twins with no underlying conditions dies of coronavirus Her mother wants people to know that it can happen to anyone.

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