Kansas man criticizes those who won’t wear masks

BEAUTIFUL PLAIN, Kan. (AP) – He was born as America was recovering from the Great Depression and was about to enter World War II – times of national sacrifice his son would remember decades later in a lamenting obituary his death from COVID-19 even though many people refused to wear “a piece of cloth over their face to protect each other.”

After Dr Marvin James Farr of Scott City, Kansas died in isolation at a nursing home on Tuesday, his son wrote an obituary in which he noted that his father was predeceased by more than 260,000 Americans infected with the coronavirus.

The obituary written by Courtney Farr was widely shared on social media and quoted in newspapers. He wrote of his father’s death “while being looked after by people dressed in confusing and frightening ways” and said that “his last days were harder, more frightening and more lonely than necessary. He also shared how his father, a farmer and veterinarian, filled his life with an understanding of the science of life.

“The science that guided his professional life has been decried and abandoned by so many people who depended on his knowledge to care for their animals and raise their food,” the obituary reads.

Courtney Farr posted on Facebook that she was in shock at the number of people who saw the obituary.

“It resonates with a lot of people and it warms my heart,” he wrote. “Often times when we go through loss, pain or trauma, we feel so alone. And there is such an incredible power to learn that you are not, that someone else knows that too.

He also fought back against claims he made his father’s obituary political.

“Well, his death was political,” he wrote. “He died alone with an infectious disease that is causing a national crisis. To claim otherwise or to obscure it is also a political decision. “

Health officials have reported 391 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five deaths in rural Scott County, which has a population of less than 5,000.

Statewide, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 168,295 cases of COVID-19, up 6,234 since Wednesday, and 1,786 deaths, up 107.