the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Eugene Thomas March 23, 1942 ~ April 10, 2020 (age 78) , Eugene Thomas was an American soul, gospel, R & B treasure and a certified legend in the Northern Soul movement. He was theformer lead singer of the late 60s NJ Soul group “Epitome of Sound” whose single “You Don’t Love Me” holds the distinction of being one of the top 10 Northern Soul records of all time.
From his Facebook page , ” It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we say goodbye to my friend, brother and musical collaborator Eugene Thomas. There was more joy, laughter, hope, faith, energy and SOUL under that hat, than in any other human being I’ve ever met. I’m just sitting here thinking about that *sparkle* of his; it was always present, and it filled the air whenever he opened his mouth to sing. And man, did he ever *sing*! As a singer/performer, he was the epitome of authentic and generosity. I’ll always regret that our orbits didn’t meet sooner in life, but I’ll always be thankful for the extra soul and vibrancy that Jean brought to mine. Our time together, whether on stage, in the studio, or just having a cup of coffee together was always joyous and always filled with music and raucous laughter. I will sorely miss you my friend for all who are reading this, I’m sure Eugene would want me to add: KTF
With love, respect and gratitude. Hamba ngoxolo mfowethu – Go in peace Eugene Thomas”
Dead as a result of a crowded birthday party held in his honor at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. How tragic.
Real nice guy. Always dressed very sharply.
I always enjoyed when he sang at the ‘cellar door’ restaurant in Ridgewood many years ago. RIP
Such a sweet man. Preventable death
Very sad for him! Condolences to the family. May he Rest in Peace!
“Dead as a result of a crowded birthday party held in his honor at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. How tragic.”
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Stop the Fake Hysteria.
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Where does it say he died from COVID-19???
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Although the posted obit doesn’t say what he died from, he did die from COVID-19 complications. It’s a fact Jack.
I heard that at least one other person who attended Jean’s birthday party was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill. What a nightmare. Who was responsible for organizing the function? Didn’t they know the risks of having such an event?
What a nightmare.
Just like the nightmare last year when the old people attending a birthday party died from influenza.
Nightmare.
Who was responsible for organizing the function?
Didn’t they know the risks of having such an event?
2018-2019 Flu season (6 months)
42.9 million people got sick during the 2018-2019 flu season and 61,200 died.
2020 COVID-19
622,00 people sick so far and 27,500 have died so far. Almost completely in the last 5 WEEKS
If we did not have social distancing and we had 42.9 million cases of COVID-19, by doing the math we could have approximately 1.9 million dead.
Stop trying to equate this with the flu. It does not make sense and the data refutes it,
No common sense on the part of someone else cost Jean his life. What a damn shame.
Per CDC so far THIS Season (2/1/2020 – 4/15/202) in the USA:
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9,681 – COVID-19 DEATHS
4.353 – Pneumonia and COVID-19 DEATHS
Note: It is unclear if the 4,353 “Pneumonia and COVID-19 DEATHS” are included in or in addition to the 9,681 “COVID-19 DEATHS”
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4,968 – Influenza DEATHS
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41,743 – Pneumonia Deaths (not coded with Influenza or COVID-19)
Notes: These deaths may be related to COVID-19, Influenza or neither. Pneumonia deaths clearly associated with influenza are excluded..
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So… IF you add COVID-19 deaths AND Pneumonia and COVID-19 deaths (and it’s unclear if they should be summed) you get 14,034 COVID-19 related deaths.
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If you Add in ALL of the unknown cause Pneumonia deaths you get 55,777.
1) This is a false COVID-19 number since some of these deaths will be related to Influenza, some will be related to COVID-19 and some will be unrelated to either virus.
So per the CDC the COVID-19 deaths are between 9,681 – 14,034 + some likely percentage of pneumonia deaths not currently associated with COVID-19.
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SOURCE:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm
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Influenza
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Per CDC so far THIS Season (10/1/2019 – 4/04/2020) in the USA:
Preliminary Estimates of Influenza related deaths:
24,000 – 62,000 deaths
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It is important to note:
1) these are ESTIMATES and they will definitely change
2) These estimates are based on ACTUAL CDC Influenza Surveillance data.
3) This is a “light” Influenza season
4) These numbers factor in widespread Influenza vaccinations
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SOURCE:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm
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SO…
1) COVID-19 is bad, but it IS NOT as Hysterically bad as it is being made to be.
2) Influenza is bad with an unacceptable death rate – even after all of these years with known vaccines and treatments
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3) The response to COVID-19 is a WAY WAY WAY OVERREATION and an unnecessary burden and detriment to citizens.
It is a “dumb” response – TOO draconian; TOO Broad
It SHOULD be a “smart” response – Targeted, Results driven.
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Covid-19 is a global pandemic. This is not hysteria.
Social distancing, good hygiene, & mask wearing are important in helping to keep the virus from spreading.
Eugene Thomas will be sorely missed, especially in Ridgewood. It doesn’t matter if it was from Coronavirus or not. It was his time to “go home”, as he would say.
He was a very compassionate and thoughtful soul. I knew him for 50 years. If he heard you squabbling about Covid-19 and someone’s passing, I’m sure he would either change the subject, or try to decide what lottery number he should play for “Covid-19”. RIP Gene 🙂
May the Lord bless Jean’s family