A suburban Atlanta high school football player is dedicating his senior year to his parents after both tragically died in the same week from complications of the coronavirus.
Justin Hunter, 17, a senior linebacker at Johns Creek High School, lost his parents, Eugene and Angie Hunter, after all three of them contracted COVID-19 just two weeks ago.
Need some prayers. 1 of our players, @JustinHunter47, just lost both of his parents in the last 4 days. Need some prayers for Justin and his family. RIP Gene and Angie. @OfficialGHSA @RecruitGeorgia @larryblustein @CoachGeorgia_ @FlaHSFootball @FultonAD_crafts @GACACoaches
— Johns Creek FB (@JohnsCreekHSFB) July 31, 2020
The Hunter trio was startled to learn they had contracted the highly communicable virus because, as Justin Hunter told WSB-TV, they were taking the necessary precautions during the pandemic. Justin still doesn’t know how they contracted the virus.
“We were a regular family just trying to stay safe during this pandemic,” he said. “When my mom would go to the store, she would be wearing a mask and she would be wearing gloves.”
Unfortunately, all three of the Hunters had radically different responses to contracting COVID-19. While Justin was asymptomatic, his parents, began displaying classic symptoms of the coronavirus.
“They became very ill, and they had the clear symptoms,” he told WSB-TV. “Their temperatures skyrocketed. They had headaches. Horrible cough. They felt very lazy.”
When quarantining inside their home did not work and the parents’ conditions worsened, they were rushed to Emory Hospital in Johns Creek, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. But their condition never improved.
Both parents died at the same hospital within the same week. Eugene Hunter, 59, passed away on Sunday, July 26, 2020, and Angie Hunter, 57, succumbed to the coronavirus on Thursday, July 30.
Justin told WSB-TV that he remembers his parents as a loving couple who met in college and were married for 35 years.
“They were just loving toward everybody. No matter what,” he said. “If you had a problem, they would be there to help you. You know that they had very big hearts, and they would give without even thinking about getting anything back.”
Justin still has plans to attend college and will pay homage to his parents during his final year of high school. He also sends out a note of caution to others about wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
“If you don’t wear it for yourself, then wear it for the next person because you could be saving that person’s life,” he said.
https://twitter.com/JustinHunter47/status/1289237255945457664
Turn to the next page to view Justin Hunter’s heartbreaking interview with WXIA-TV.
