Lonely funeral for ‘gentle’ victim virus victim

The funeral of COVID-19 victim Garry Kirstenfeldt, 68, will be a lonely affair with his wife and family banned from attending.

The family of Garry Kirstenfeldt, who died after contracting COVID-19, is facing the sad prospect of holding a funeral without his wife or two of his children who are still in isolation.

The 68-year-old Toowoomba man – described by relatives as “gentle” and “an incredible man” died in hospital after being infected while on holiday aboard the Voyager of the Seas cruise ship.

Mr Kirstenfeldt caught the coronavirus on his 17th cruise, taken with wife Jennifer and two of their four children.

Photos posted on Facebook of the family show they were having a fabulous holiday with Mr Kirstenfeldt who “loved going on vacations” with his family.

His family, who were prevented from entering the ICU at Toowoomba Hospital under coronavirus isolation and quarantine rules, have started a gofundme.com page to finance his funeral.

The page says Mr Kirstenfeldt was “a man with much more life in him” and “the most incredible man in all our lives”

The family “have so many beautiful memories and knew we had been very lucky”.

Garry Kirstenfeldt (right), wife Jennifer (centre) and family members on vacation, which he loved. Picture: Facebook

Garry Kirstenfeldt died alone in hospital after contracting COVID-19.

“Our dad always had time for each of us, playing games or dealing with our squabble,” the post reads.

“He made an impression on all he met and considered his friends extended family. He loved going on vacations, be it up the coast, or overseas. You’d always find him with a smile and family.

“He had been on 16 cruise ships and loved to relax with family or worry about activities to keep us entertained.

“His favourite would have been the one around Hawaii; He had wanted to retire there, no matter how difficult it would have been.

“We never expected his 17th cruise … to be his last or no one to be at his side for the last moments of his life.”
Mr Kirstenfeldt, who had a serious underlying medical condition, had been in hospital before but this was the first time his family was not by his side.

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“He had been at death’s door multiple times before,” the gofundme page written by one his children says.

“I would need both my hands and another to count all the times he gave us such frights but fought his way back to us.

“We struggled not being by his side in ICU or as he died, since we are all in self-isolation.”

Garry Kirstenfeldt died on March 25.

Two of his four children are believed to be able to attend his funeral.

They are believed to be the Kirstenfeldt’s elder daughter, Orinda, and younger son, Kevin.

New coronavirus restrictions now limit the number of people at funerals to no more than 10, but exclude those who have even exposed to possible infection.

With at least four cruise ships having docked in Australia in recent weeks, all with confirmed coronavirus cases aboard, the Kirstenfeldt family’s funeral experience will likely not be the last.

Brian Weston, whose wife June Kirstenfeldt is Garry’s cousin, described Mr Kirstenfeldt as a “gentle man”

The gofundme page tribute said Jennifer Kirstenfeldt now faced a financial burden to pay for her husband’s funeral, as well as being the carer of two children with disabilities.

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