40-year-old Escalon mother who vocally opposed vaccination, masks dies from COVID-19
An Escalon mother, who posted messages protesting against vaccines and masks, died last week of COVID-19, according to an online story in the Daily Mail.
Kristen Lowery, 40, died Sept. 15, leaving four school-age children, the story says. The woman’s story is featured on numerous Internet sites.
Lowery was the picture of health in Facebook posts that boasted she was “unmasked” and “unmuzzled” and a free thinker. One post featured a sign saying she was giving a “voice to the vaccine injured.” According to the Daily Mail, she appeared to attend an anti-vaccine event wearing a shirt indicating she was an “ex-vaxxer.” The shirt read: “I trusted them. Never again.”
Political borders on her Facebook photos proclaimed Lowery was “unmasked, unmuzzled, unvaccinated, unafraid. Together we win.”
Health officials in Stanislaus County and in San Joaquin County, where Lowery was raising her children, have urged residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves against serious illness or death. A Stanislaus County health order requires people to wear masks in indoor public settings, regardless of vaccine status.
The Stanislaus Health Services Agency has a number of COVID vaccine clinics scheduled this week.
The Daily Mail reported that Lowery’s Facebook page was recently switched to private.
According to the Daily Mail, a sister of Lowery’s posted on Facebook early this month that Lowery was hospitalized with a life-threatening case of COVID pneumonia. Family members mourned her death in additional posts, and a GoFundMe page has raised funds for her funeral.
“She was everything that was good and kind,” the GoFundme memorial says. “Her passing leaves a big hole in many of our lives and she will never be forgotten but will be greatly missed.”
Amber Qualls, a close friend of Lowery’s, explained her friend’s distrust of vaccines. Qualls told The Modesto Bee on Tuesday that Lowery’s daughter suffered ill effects from a vaccine given to her when she was a baby. The daughter continues to have issues with food intake as a result, Qualls said.
“She was a beautiful, amazing individual who hated nobody,” Qualls said. “She loved God. She would never turn her back on anybody. She did what she thought was best for her family.”
The GoFundMe page says donations after funeral expenses will go into a savings account for her children’s care.
“My heart is breaking for her 4 kids, her sister and brother,” a family member posted. “We will miss her always.”
This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 11:06 AM.
