Family of Illinois woman use obituary to blame unvaccinated dead

The family of an Illinois woman who died in early September used her obituary to blame her death on unvaccinated people, KPRC reports.

Candance Cay (Kruger), 66, who was fully immunized against the coronavirus in the spring, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 28, according to her family.

She died Sept. 3 in an Illinois hospital, survived by her 43-year-old husband, two children and three grandchildren.

“She was preceded in death by more than 4,531,799 other people infected with COVID-19. She was vaccinated but was infected by others who chose not to be. The cost was his life, ”we read at the beginning of the obituary.

See the full obituary below:

Springfield, IL-Candace Cay (Kruger) Ayers, 66, of Springfield, died on September 3, 2021 at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, IL. She was preceded in death by more than 4,531,799 other people infected with covid-19. She was vaccinated but was infected by others who chose not to be. The cost was his life.

Candy was born on June 28, 1955 in Mobile, Alabama, daughter of Thomas and Beverly Kruger. Candy was an Air Force brat and lived for a short time in Okinawa, Japan, where her father was stationed at a military base with her mother. She married Terry Gene Ayers on October 7, 1978.

Candy graduated from Pawnee High School in 1973. She was an orthodontic assistant for Drs. Sternstein, Bernardy & Groesch for many years before deciding to be a stay-at-home mom to raise her children. After her children grew up, she returned to work for five years at the St. John’s Prairie Heart Institute at the Cardiac Cath Lab.

Candy appreciated the most: her morning cup of coffee. It had to be the very first thing that touched her lips in the morning and there was never a day that there wasn’t a pot of brewing. She loved her soap operas and reality TV and passed this addiction on to her daughter. She also had a good knack for speaking her mind, a great eye for detail, an incredible ability to organize and was possibly the best mom, wife and Gagi in the whole world.

She is survived by her loving husband of nearly 43 years, Terry of Springfield; her children Marc (Samantha) Ayers of Springfield and Amanda Foster and her 5-year-old triplet grandchildren Andie, Daniel and Charlotte Foster of Springfield who were the loves of her life.

Arrangements are under the direction of Bisch Funeral Home West, Springfield. A private memorial service will be organized by the immediate family according to their last wishes.

Briefs can be made at the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation, 8815 Conroy Windermere Rd, Suite 309, Orlando, FL 32835 or at The Humane Society of the United States, Dept. HACDQ100904001, 1255 23rd St NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20037 or online at. https://secured.humanesociety.org/page/81880/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=web_topnav_donate

The obituary was hailed for his courage. The State Journal-Register noted a response from U.S. Senator Richard Durbin:

When I first read Candace Ayer’s obituary in the SJ-R, I was taken by the courage of her family to remind all of us that we are together in this pandemic.

They wrote: “She was preceded in death by more than 4,531,799 other people infected with COVID-19. She was vaccinated but was infected by others who chose not to be. The cost was his life.

Your front page article (September 12) on this obituary told a heartwarming story of Candace’s life and her family’s determination to advocate with all of us to help spare other families the pain of this tragic loss of life.

This pandemic and the deadly variants the virus will spawn will not be stopped until more Americans are vaccinated.