An elderly couple married for 48 years and together for 50 passed away from COVID-19. They died as they lived, hand in hand, within four minutes of one another.
Their son, Shane Peoples, felt “cheated” by the sudden loss of his parents due to a virus that some people believe to be a “hoax.”
“Everything just went south, everything just got worse,” Shane told the news outlet.
When it became clear to hospital staffers that the couple wasn’t going to make it, they did everything they could to ensure that Johnny and Cathy could be close in their final moments.
“[T]hey put them in the same room,” Shane said, “they put their hands together, the nurses gathered around and they passed within four minutes of each other.”
Shane wrote: “We were cheated. The lives of Mom and Dad were stolen by a virus that many joke about on a daily basis or just straight out believe it’s a hoax of some sort. Both of them took this pandemic seriously and still got sick, still died...”
But despite his pain, Shane explained that his letter was coming from a place of love and not anger.
“My parents weren’t just a blessing for me, my brother, my sister, our spouses, and our children. They were a blessing to every person that met them,” Shane wrote.
“I miss them so very much. They won’t get to see their grandchildren grow up, or see many of their grandchildren graduate,” the grieving son added.
Shane signed off by pleading with his readers, “Hold your family close. Treat every moment with them like it’s your last, it could very well be. Love and keep on loving. [...] Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing. Be kind to each other.”
An outdoor, socially distant funeral was held for Johnny and Cathy on Sept. 9.
In an endeavor to contribute toward an end to the virus that took Johnny and Cathy, the Peoples family has requested that mourners refrain from sending flowers. Instead, they would love for memorial contributions to be sent to Duke University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics for genetic sequencing research.