Owner of diner that stayed open despite lockdown dies of COVID-19 | TheHill – The Hill

John Parney Sr., a Quincy, Mich., diner owner who kept his business open in defiance of COVID-19 lockdown orders, has died from complications from the virus, NBC affiliate WLIX reported.

Parney, 62, died on Dec. 14 after fighting the disease for nearlytwo months.

According toa GoFundMe pagecreated by his family, Parney was first hospitalized for three days in late September after contracting the virus.

Two days afterhe was discharged, his family said they found him incoherent and confused and took him back to thehospital.

The GoFundMe page added that Parney was unvaccinated prior to testing positive for COVID-19, but told family members while he was sickthat he planned to get the shot because the virus was worse than any training he endured in the military.

In December 2020, Parneyreopened the diner he co-owned with his wife, Paula, even though doing so violatedthe partial shutdownput in place by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services,according to local outlet MLive.com.

In explanation, Parney said he had opened the diner in order to pay the costs for his wife's cancer treatment and to keep the business afloat,perMLive.com.

My wifes fighting stage-four colon cancer, Parney said, according to the outlet. We depend on this restaurant to help subsidize billing and all of that. My employees need that. Of course, if Id have stayed closed much longer, Id have lost the business.

In addition to runningthe diner,Parney also worked as a full-time employee at the FireKeepers Casino and Hotel and was a U.S. Marine veteran, MLive.com reported.

The news ofParney's deathcomes as his wife continues to undergo cancer treatment.

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Owner of diner that stayed open despite lockdown dies of COVID-19 | TheHill - The Hill