SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio is still in the midst of a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths, as numbers have been steadily increasing over the last few weeks following the holidays.
This surge is hitting close to home for a lot of residents, including Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
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The judge announced during the city’s daily COVID-19 briefing on Monday that his best friend, Glynn Dyess, died from the virus while hospitalized.
Wolff told the San Antonio Report that he and Dyess had been close friends for 65 years after first meeting at Pershing Jr. High School in Houston in 1956.
“We became fast friends playing football for Pershing. We then became friends with Billie Burge and the three of us bought identical shirts that we would wear to school on occasion. Our friendship would last a lifetime,” Wolff told the SA Report.
Wolff, Dyess and Burge were on Bellaire’s football team. He and Dyess also played baseball and won the city’s championship in 1959, according to the SA Report.
“We lived a care-free, high school life, playing sports, chasing girls and learning by osmosis,” Wolff said.
Wolff and Dyess remained friends through the years, despite having different career paths and political opinions. He said even though Dyess was a “very conservative Republican,” he supported his campaign for Bexar County Judge and was one of his largest contributors.
The San Antonio Report said Dyess suffered a stroke seven years ago and his wife, Connie, was his caretaker. However, when he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized, Connie couldn’t visit him in the hospital due to the risk of transmission.
Wolff said at 6:15 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 10, his friend died in the hospital.
“He died alone — a terrible, horrifying way to die. I did not get to say goodbye to my best friend of 65 years,” Wolff told the San Antonio Report. “I know it is a final parting, but it is a friendship I will always carry with me until my time comes.”
Mayor Ron Nirenberg offered his condolences to Judge Wolff on social media Thursday, while also urging residents to continue following health guidelines to help limit the spread of the virus.
My heart goes out to Judge Wolff and the family of his best friend, Glynn Dyess. Let's continue to do all we can to protect our loved ones and our neighbors.
Posted by Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Thursday, January 14, 2021
You can read the full story from the San Antonio Report here.
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