Texas wife blames Trump and Gov. Abbott for husband's COVID-19 death in viral obituary
A man from Texas died from COVID-19 on July 22 — and the obituary his wife wrote for him has now gone viral. In the obituary for David W. Nagy, published in the small local newspaper the Jefferson Jimplecute, his wife, Stacey Nagy blames his death on President Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
"David's death was needless," his wife, Stacey Nagy, wrote. "The blame for his death and the deaths of all the other innocent people, falls on Trump, Abbott and all the other politicians who did not take this pandemic seriously and were more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives."
She also said others are to blame: "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."
"Dave did everything he was supposed to do, but you did not. Shame on all of you, and may Karma find you all!" she wrote.
Nagyn said her husband died at age 79 in the ICU at Christus Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview, Texas, and that 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."
He is survived by his wife and five children, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and friends, according to the obit.
Stacey Nagy confirmed via Facebook that she wrote the obituary and submitted it to the Jefferson Jimplecute, CBS affiliate KYTX reports. Her words reached people far from Jefferson, Texas, after a photo of the newspaper clipping was shared online.
In an interview with fact-checking website Snopes, Nagy said she was glad the obituary was seen widely because she wanted to get her message out.
"It gets me so angry that people are aren't taking this seriously," she told Snopes. "The people who are dying are the older people especially — a lot of younger people are dying too — but it's almost like they're saying, 'Who cares about the older people?' I've been with my husband for 20 years and all of a sudden he's gone. People should know how this makes others feel."
She said in the interview that she's seen many people in her town failing to wear face masks and she expressed anger that the pandemic has been politicized.
Due to visitor restrictions implemented in hospitals, Nagy couldn't be with husband in person before he died and the last time she saw him was through a see-through barrier. He was unconscious, she told Snopes.
"I miss my husband dearly," she said in the interview. "I'm taking one day at a time to just try to keep going. When I wrote that thing it was because of him. I don't want his death just to disappear. I wrote that and partially, it keeps him alive for me."
CBS News has reached out to Stacey Nagy and will update with any response.