PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - It’s not a drive that longtime WPXI anchor David Johnson and his family expected to make.
On Thursday, Johnson called into Lynne Hayes-Freeland on KDKA Radio while he and his wife Nancy and their two sons are on their way to South Carolina for his in-laws funeral.
89-year-old Gerald and 86-year old Arline Polinsky died only hours apart after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
The couple was married for over 60 years and Johnson says after his own parents died in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Johnson said he became to call the Polinsky’s mom and dad.
LISTEN: David Johnson on the passing of his in-laws
“They naturally became to be mom and dad, I said it very easily and they were, they were just wonderful to me,” said Johnson.
A colleague of Johnson told him, “You were blessed to have another set of parents.”
Johnson adds that the couple did everything together and that their love was always noticeable.
Gerald died a few hours before Arline and when she noticed the hospital workers taking him away she said, “Together Jerry.”
Right after that Arline passed away as well.
Johnson says he and his family feel blessed they had each other till the end.
Another reality during the COVID-19 outbreak is how funerals are conducted.
Johnson says he isn’t sure exactly how it will go but he know there will be fewer than 10 people at the grave site at a time and that social distancing will be in place along with wearing masks.
Nancy Polinsky Johnson is known for her cooking programs on WQED-TV and her mother Arline’s famous pound cake.
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