A New Hampshire man who died of eastern equine encephalitis, the state’s first fatal case of the illness in a decade, was a hard worker who lived a full life and was happiest spending time with his family, his relatives said Wednesday, urging people to be vigilant about the rare but deadly disease.
Steven S. Perry, 41, of Hampstead, was healthy before he contracted the mosquito-borne virus, said his brother, Jim Perry. His condition then deteriorated rapidly.
“It was extremely sudden,” he said in an interview. “He basically didn’t feel well one morning.”
He “went from perfectly healthy and happy” to being “airlifted to Mass General,” he said.
“Within a week that disease went right through him,” he said. “At 41 years old, if this can affect someone who is healthy ... we want people to be careful and be conscious of it.”
Perry died Aug. 19 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, surrounded by his family, according to his obituary.
His sister, Susan Hamilton, said her family is struggling to process his death.
“We can’t comprehend how this happened,” she said. “It was so tragic and so sudden. He was young, 41 and otherwise healthy, loved his family, loved his friends. It’s going to be a real loss to all of us. The sudden nature and how rapidly it progressed ... we’re all still trying to process what happened.”
Hamilton said her brother “would help anyone, anytime” and believes that he is helping the public now by raising awareness about EEE to prevent others from getting infected.
“You may think it’s so rare we don’t have to worry about it,” she said. But “even though it’s rare ... there’s no cure, there’s no treatment ... there’s nothing they can do for you once you have it. It’s terrible.”
Jim Perry said Steven was the youngest of four siblings and loved sports. He was a hard worker and “great brother,” he said.
“He was the baby of the family,” he recalled. “He loved to golf, he enjoyed Barstool Sports and the NFL.”
Born in Haverhill, Perry attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, where he played varsity basketball and soccer. After graduating in 2001, he attended Bryant University. He ”took great pride in his career as director of Hampstead Nursing Services, working alongside his mother for many years,” according to his obituary.
“He was also an avid Boston sports fan whose knowledge and passion for sports was beyond measure,” his obituary stated. “Though his time with us was cut short, Steven had a sense of adventure, lived a full life and was happiest spending time with his family who meant everything to him. He had many fond memories of the times he spent with his grandparents and later his brother on Big Island Pond and was looking to new adventures on Kingston Lake. He was an avid golfer and enjoyed the game even more when playing with his nephews.”
Jim Perry thanked the staff at Massachusetts General Hospital for doing everything they could to help his brother.
“They were exceptional. They were compassionate,” he said. “They really did their best to fight this. They did the best they could.”
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.