It has been a sad week in our area.

Last Saturday, Charles Nathaniel Kirkland Jr., who went by the nickname “Kirk,” was killed in a fireworks explosion on Ocracoke Island, N.C. The 49-year-old Newsoms native died helping members of his church over the holiday weekend.

On Tuesday, Michael Brandon Pittman of Ivor died after a long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS and sometimes called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” The 34-year-old former real estate agent leaves behind a wife, young daughter and stepson.

And on Friday, details began to emerge over the deaths of an elderly couple in Boykins. Family members said 70-year-old Edward Lee Everett Sr. shot and killed his 71-year-old wife, Queen Esther Everett, and then himself on Thursday because they were both ill and he felt guilty about not being able to care for her. She was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Although the circumstances behind their passing were very different, each deeply touched our community. For Kirk, he died while volunteering his time and helping others. For Pittman, and the Everetts, the last years of their lives involved a high degree of personal human suffering; perhaps the only good news to emerge from those stories is that their long suffering is now over.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of Kirk, Michael, Edward and Queen.