HOWLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – The Trumbull County 911 Center is mourning the loss of two longtime dispatchers who passed away within 18 months of each other. Their coworkers are saying they left behind big holes at the 911 Center.

The dispatchers at the 911 Center are no strangers to tragedy. They’re the calm voice during an emergency, even while they’re in mourning.

“It’s been, it’s been really hard,” said dispatcher Marisa Migliozzi.

In the past year and a half, they suffered two big losses of longtime coworkers Paula Chovan and Kelly Bryant — a deep cut to the thin, gold line.

“Two extremely big holes here, holes that can’t be, can’t be filled,” said dispatcher Beezer Matkovich.

It has been almost 18 months since Chovan passed away.

“What a great soul. She was funny. I mean, no matter what the situation was, she was always good to crack a joke. She would do anything for anybody,” Matkovich said.

Just last week, Bryant passed away too.

“Kelly was feisty and that was part of her fire and the attraction. She was just a great person, big heart, loved animals,” Migliozzi said.

Chovan and Bryant had almost 60 years of combined service at the 911 Center. Their coworkers say they’re taking it day by day and are working to keep their memories alive.

“We joke around about stuff that, you know, they’ve said in the past and whatever and it helps,” Migliozzi said.

“It’s a loss that can’t be described. I mean, it’s just like you’re losing your own family, because everybody here is family,” Matkovich said.

But even with heavy hearts, these dispatchers continue to answer the call.

“We can’t sit here and grieve and the phones not go answered. So we have to keep going and then grieve later, unfortunately, in this line of work,” said dispatcher Jim Richmond.