John Prine's wife urges people to "take this virus seriously" in post paying tribute to late husband

Prine passed away aged 73 on Tuesday (7 April) following complications after being diagnosed with coronavirus. Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Margo Price, Mandy Moore, and others paid tribute to the late musician on socials.

Yesterday (8 April), Prine's wife Fiona Whelan Prine uploaded a tribute post on Instagram, in which she urged fans to follow government guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. She wrote, "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."

Prine's wife adds, "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."

She goes on to thank fans, "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."

Fiona Whelan Prine also asks for donations to Nashville Rescue Mission, Room In The Inn, and Thistle Farms charities over receiving gifts/flowers.

View this post on Instagram

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 Fiona (@fprine) on Apr 8, 2020 at 8:04am PDT