who was lorena hickok, and what was their relationship? and this was the second floor of the white house? goodwin: right. lorena hickok had been a former reporter for the "associated press, " and, in fact, in 1933 she was considered the leading female reporter in the country. she weighed about 200 pounds, she smoked cigars, she played poker with the guys, and she was really smart. and what happened is she came to interview franklin and eleanor during the campaign in'32, and eleanor and she became really close friends. she fell in love with eleanor, and more importantly, she probably helped eleanor become the activist first lady that she did. it was lorena who came up with the idea of eleanor holding press conferences every week. only female reporters could come. so a whole generation of female journalists got their start because every newspaper had to hire a female reporter. she was the one who came up with the idea of a syndicated column that eleanor wrote every day, missing only the day that her husband died, and really helped eleanor tr

a third generation service member, captain hickok was the u.s.y's first loss to the pandemic. ♪ ♪ >> woodruff: there is no way to truly mark the losses from covid-19, but we want to end the week on a high note. it comesrom the tony award winning cast of "ain't too proud," the broadway show about the temptations. like so many of us they recently got online to connect and delivered this performance. let's have a listen for our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ she's got a smile so bright ♪ you know she hauld have could been a candle ♪ ♪ i'm holding you so tight ♪ you know you co auld have been handle ♪ ♪ the way you swept me off my feet ♪ ♪ you know you could have been broo♪ ♪ so when you smell so sweet ♪ you know ye could haveen some perfume ♪ ♪ well, you could have been anything that you wanted to ♪ ♪ and i can telthe way you do the things you do ♪ do ♪e way you do the things you ♪ as pretty as you are ♪ you hnow you coue been a flower ♪ ♪ if good looks were a minute, you know you could have been an hour ♪ ♪ the way you smile, yo

brian: lorena hickok died at -- she was 75. anna, the daughter, died at 64 or 60 -- ms. goodwin: yeah, she was pretty young, too. brian: how come? ms. goodwin: well, harry hopkins, just to start with him, when he was at the end of the "new deal" period, he was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach, and he had almost his entire stomach removed, but somehow public life and public service gave him an extra lease on life, and when roosevelt made him his foreign policy advisor, he somehow was able to get through what most people would have died from. he was so sick during the war. he looked like he was dying. he was so thin, his body was being eaten away. and i think what happened is, after roosevelt died, and there was no longer room for him in public life, then he himself finally died. it was almost like -- churchill said he was like "a crumbling lighthouse." he was so full of fire and energy, it kept him alive, but his body was giving away on him. to understand what happened to princess martha, i think she, too, had had some illnesses during her 40's, and she died relativel

described by hisy as "fearless," hickok had prepared ef help with the pandemic's 57reade he was infectedty, thear-old was an and father of two.grillmaster a third generation service u.s. military's first loss to the pandic. ♪ ♪ >> woodruff: there is no way to truly mark the lossefrom covid-19, but we want to end the week on a high note. it comes from the tony award winning cast of "ain't too proud," the broadway show about the temptations. like so many of us they recently got online to connect and delivered this performance. let's have a listen for our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ she's got a smile so bright ♪ you know she could have could ♪ve been a candle ♪ i'm holding you so tight no ♪ you kw you could have been a handle ♪ ♪ the way you swept me off my feet ♪ ♪ you know you could have been a broom ♪ ♪ so when you smell so sweet ♪ you know you could have been some perfume ♪ ♪ well, you could have been anything thatou wanted to ♪ ♪ and can tell the way you do the things you do ♪ ♪ the way you do the things you do ♪ ♪ as pretty as you are ♪ you know could have bee

. ♪ it's a sad time of the night >> reporter: captain douglas hickok was a physician's assistant whoas 47. last summer he took his daughter on a cross-country journey. he loved road trips. >> he'd like text us, oh, almost there. get ready. i'm taking you somewhere. you would just go for a drive, go to the beach. go to a museum, go to a park. >> reporter: his sister mary remembers sundays as a family. >> every week we had a tradition as a family to spend time together. we'd turn off the phone, and we would have family activities, and doug always made it fun. >> reporter: it's good advice for other families right now to appreciate those moments. >> yeah. if you're going to plug into anything, plug into your family because they're all that matters. family is all that matters and love, and the last words we said to my brother was that we loved him and we always would and that we would be okay. >> wow. a reminder of what's important in the midst of one of the greatest challenges we've ever faced. that's our program for tonight. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for joining us. i'm lest

douglas lynn hickok was a physician assistant in the new jersey national guard. he's the first active duty u.s. service member to die from the coronavirus. he comes from a family of service. his dad was a major in the air force and his son is looking to join the navy. his family says he wanted to contribute and make a difference and he certainly did that throughout his life. he was so proud of his military service. he was 57 years old. wallace roney was a legendary jazz musician, he played with miles davis. he grew up in a music-loving family. his talent was, well, you couldn't hide it. it was evident early on. when he was just 12, he became the youngest member of the philadelphia brass, a professional quintet. he recorded nearly 20 albums during his career. "the washington post" profiled him in 1987, called him one of the best jazz trumpeters in the world. he was 59 years old. and rabbi romey cohn. he was born in what's now slovakia. he lost his mom, two sisters and two brothers during the holocaust. when he was just 16 years old, he joined an underground resist

. >> douglas lynn hickok loved the outdoors, earning his eagles scout award at 16, became a physician'sat 47. >> he had recently passed his army fitness test in the fall, army fitness test in the you know, 57 and he's passing it and so we were so proud of him. >> his sister mary says he loved his country and his family. >> every week we had a tradition as a family to spend time together we'd turn off the phone and we would have family activities doug always made it fun. >> it's good advice for other families right now to appreciate those moments. >> yeah. family is all that matters and love and the last words we said to my brother was that we loved him and we always would. and -- and that we would be okay. >> remember your families, right now. one more loss i do want to mention, because "today" show viewers are going to remember this family. remember in 2016, wanda dench accidentally invited a teenager to thanksgiving dinner, she texted him along with her family they became friends. jamal henson accepted the invitation the other day jamal posted that wanda and lonnie were both sick with