Jerry Ray Johnston, former Grand Ole Opry drummer and father of The Cadillac Three's Jaren Johnston died on January 9th at the age of 65 in Franklin, TN. He succumbed to Covid pneumonia, according to reports, and Jaren wants people to know that his dad was unvaccinated.
In a recent post to his social media, Jaren shared several pictures and paid tribute to his father writing, “Dad, thank you for everything. I will still text you every time anything cool happens in my life. I will probably still call you everytime I’m trying to take a back road short cut in Nashville to get somewhere quicker. I will try to learn how to make Mexican cornbread for Mom and Texa… and most importantly I will never forget how loved I felt my whole life. I will make sure Jude feels that same love everyday.”
He closed by writing, “And if you are reading this and have someone in your life that doesn’t want to get vaxxed for whatever reason, I will tell you this… My dad chose to be unvaccinated and would have had a chance to live if he were. My Superman went down in 3 weeks. This virus is not a political joke. It is real. It is scary. And it has dug a big 6 foot hole in so many peoples lives including mine. Not sure I’ll get over this one.”
The Johnston family is asking for donations to Music Cares, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Wounded Warriors Project or the charity of one's choice in lieu of flowers.