Obituary Blaming Death on Anti-Maskers and Politicians Resurfaces

An obituary in which the family of a man who died from COVID blames anti-maskers and politicians for his death has resurfaced online.

With the resurgence of coronavirus cases, especially in the southern portion of the United States, the obituary for David W. Nagy of Jefferson, Texas, has resurfaced.

Mr. Nagy passed away in July of 2020 from the coronavirus and the obituary shows how heartwrenching a COVID death is on the victim's family.

The obituary opens with the regular information: name, date of death, location at the time of death, etc. Then, when it gets to the part about what caused Mr. Nagy's death, the obituary takes a slight turn and hits right in the feels.

He suffered greatly from the ravages of the COVID-19 virus and the separation from his much loved family who were not allowed at his bedside. - Obituary posted by Doug Maesk via Twitter

The obituary made mention of the fact that the family was not allowed to visit with their loved one while he was being treated for the coronavirus.

Imagine having a spouse or parent or child in the hospital, possibly on death's bed, and being unable to visit, to hold their hand, to tell them "I love you" one last time. THAT is one of the biggest tragedies of this virus.

The family, through the obituary, then blames Mr. Nagy's death on the politicians who did not take the virus seriously, namely President Trump.

They blame his death and the deaths of all the other innocent people on Trump, Abbot, and all the other politicians who did not take this pandemic seriously and were more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives. - Obituary posted by Doug Maesk via Twitter

If you recall, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump and some of his followers would refer to the coronavirus as "nothing worse than the flu" and played it down. (Forbes.com has a list of occurrences in which the former president played down the seriousness of the virus.)

The obituary goes on to blame "ignorant, self centered (sic) and selfish" people who refused to mask up.

Also to blame are the many ignorant, self centered and selfish people who refused to follow the advice of the medical professionals, believing their "right" not to wear a mask was more important than killing innocent people. - Obituary posted by Doug Maesk via Twitter

The family noted in the obituary that Mr. Nagy followed the guidelines set forth by health care professionals, but "you did not. Shame on all of you, and may Karma find you all."

Responses to the Tweet by Doug Maesk were mostly one-sided, applauding the family's honesty and bravery in putting the blame on the pandemic deniers and anti-maskers.

Again, more support for the family that posted the obituary, with people noting how "red" the Longview, Texas area is and that the family was probably harassed after the printing of the obituary.

There were some replies to the Tweet that called into question the validity of the story, and whether Mr. Nagy actually did all that he could to avoid the virus. One went as far as to suggest that Mr. Nagy made a lifetime of blaming others for his problems.

As a human, it is our duty to develop empathy for our fellow humans. We need to do our best to put ourselves in their shoes, as the saying goes.

I can only try to imagine the pain and heartache this family has gone through, knowing that they did everything they were supposed to do and that the death of their family member was likely the result of others who were not being good neighbors.

I, for one, can not understand how a person can read an obituary like this one, or listen to news stories about the rise in cases, or see the defeat on the faces of our health care workers, and still not do their part to put an end to the pandemic.

Don't listen to me. Don't listen to this family who is still grieving over the senseless loss of their loved one. Don't listen to the pundits/politicians/posers on social media. Listen to your doctor.

If you are vaccinated, thank you. Continue to follow the recommendations of the health care professionals.

If you have consulted with your physician and were advised to NOT get vaccinated against the coronavirus, please follow masking and social distancing protocol. Please limit your exposure to others, and inform people that you are at high risk so they may respect your boundaries.

If you are not vaccinated and have not consulted with your physician about whether you should receive the vaccination, please do so as soon as possible: your life, and the lives of others, may depend on it.