Dad fighting COVID promised his family to always wear a mask. It was his final text

Robert Perry Jr. didn’t think a global coronavirus pandemic would come to rural Carter County in Kentucky, his brother recalls.

“He did not believe that it was necessary to wear a mask, although we would beg him to wear a mask when he would be out and about,” said Chris Perry, WPSD reported.

Then the 56-year-old father of three, known for his devout faith in God and love of the Cincinnati Reds, fell ill, WLKY reported. Fighting COVID-19 in a hospital, he sent a text to a family chat.

“And he said, ‘If the Lord allows me to get through this, I’ll never leave home without wearing a mask again,’” Chris Perry recalled, according to the station. It was his brother’s final message to his family.

Robert Perry Jr. died of COVID-19 in August. The Daily Independent reported. His son, Tyler, said his father asked him to tell his story as a warning to others.

“I don’t want anybody else to ever have to be in the situation that we were in for the past months,” Tyler Perry said, according to the publication. Robert Perry also left two daughters, an obituary in the Carter County Times reported.

Chris Perry shared his brother’s story Monday at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Kentucky State Capitol for the more than 2,000 people who have died of COVID-19 in the state, WPSD reported.

“It’s not some made-up virus, it’s not some political ploy,” Chris Perry said, WLKY reported. “It is real.”

More than 68 million cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed worldwide with more than 1.5 million deaths as of Dec. 8, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 15 million confirmed cases with more than 285,000 deaths.

This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Dad fighting COVID promised his family to always wear a mask. It was his final text."