John Prine's wife pens emotional note after singer loses battle to Covid, urges people of all ages take virus seriously

NEW YORK: Fiona Whelan Prine, the wife of late folk artiste John Prine, has opened up about her husband's death from coronavirus, asking people to take the threat of the disease "seriously".
Prine, whose coronavirus diagnosis was revealed on March 17, died on Tuesday at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 73.

Fiona posted a statement on Prine's official Instagram page, saying the whole family is grief-stricken after Prine's demise.

"John contracted COVID-19 and in spite of the incredible skill and care of his medical team at Vanderbilt he could not overcome the damage this virus inflicted on his body.

"I sat with John, who was deeply sedated, in the hours before he passed and will be forever grateful for that opportunity," she said.

Fiona then urged to people to follow the guidelines of Centre for Disease Control (CDC) so as to safeguard themselves from the COVID-19 disease, which has claimed over 88,000 lives globally.

"My dearest wish is that people of all ages take this virus seriously and follow guidelines set by the CDC. We send our condolences and love to the thousands of other American families who are grieving the loss of loved ones at this time - and to so many other families across the world.

"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of love we have received from family, friends, and fans all over the world. John will be so missed but he will continue to comfort us with his words and music and the gifts of kindness, humour and love he left for all of us to share," she added.

View this post on Instagram

From Fiona Whelan Prine... Our beloved John died yesterday evening at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville TN. We have no words to describe the grief our family is experiencing at this time. John was the love of my life and adored by our sons Jody, Jack and Tommy, daughter in law Fanny, and by our grandchildren. John contracted Covid-19  and in spite of the incredible skill and care of his medical team at Vanderbilt he could not overcome the damage this virus inflicted on his body. I sat with John - who was deeply sedated- in the hours before he passed and will be forever grateful for that opportunity. My dearest wish is that people of all ages take this virus seriously and follow guidelines set by the CDC. We send our condolences and love to the thousands of other American families who are grieving the loss of loved ones at this time - and to so many other families across the world. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of love we have received from family, friends, and fans all over the world. John will be so missed but he will continue to comfort us with his words and music and the gifts of kindness, humor and love he left for all of us to share. In lieu of flowers or gifts at this time we would ask that a donation be made to one of the following non profits: thistlefarms.org roomintheinn.org nashvillerescuemission.org

A post shared by John Prine (@john_prine) on Apr 8, 2020 at 7:33am PDT

In a career spanning over half a century, Prine churned out heartfelt and unforgettable songs like 'Angel From Montgomery', 'Sweet Revenge' and 'In Spite of Ourselves'.

He was regarded as one of the greatest by many of his peers including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler and many other music legends.