FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A family is mourning a 77-year-old man who died Monday night after contracting COVID-19 at an assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale.

“Richard was ebullient, he was loving. What do you say in a moment like that? He was perfect,” Richard Curren’s wife, Sheila Curren, said.

Richard and Sheila Curren were married for 56 years.

The two lived together at the Atria Willow Wood assisted living facility until Richard suddenly fell ill late last week.

“I think the family is in shock because he always pulled through,” the Curren’s daughter, Tracie Curren, said.

The call came at 5 a.m. Tuesday that their beloved patriarch was dead from bacterial pneumonia after testing positive for COVID-19.

He was being treated at Holy Cross Hospital.

“There’s three high risk groups as categorized by the CDC, and those are diabetics, people with heart disease and people with lung disease. He had all three of those,” Tracie Curren said.

Richard was Sheila’s caretaker. She suffers from a neuro-degenerative disorder and is now on home quarantine with her daughter.

“I’m afraid for her and us,” Tracie Curren said. “Thankfully it’s been several days and she’s not symptomatic yet, so we’re hopeful. We’re hopeful. But again, this is community spread. You know, he did not go to China. He didn’t leave his facility.”