SANFORD, Fla. — The family of a Seminole County man who recently died of COVID-19 is warning others of the danger of letting down your guard during the coronavirus pandemic.

What You Need To Know


  • Leroy Hardy Sr. of Seminole County died of coronavirus infection

  • Son says he thinks his dad became complacent, let his guard down

  • Rico Sharp: Like others, "he got tired of being constrained to the house"

  • FULL COVERAGE: Spectrum News | Florida Department of Health | CDC

Leroy Hardy Sr.’s son says he believes his father gradually became complacent, which he thinks led to his death.

Some of the best times Rico Sharp spent with his father were on the water.

“We would come right down here to the St. Johns River and put our boat in,” Sharp said. “He loved fishing.”

The two looked forward to many more years of that thanks to a new chance his father Leroy got a year ago.  He received a donated heart — from a Hurricane Michael victim.  Hardy died twice on the operating table during the transplant surgery.

“God and medical science and the medical professionals were able to bring him back both times,” Sharp said.

Sharp says as much as anybody, his father knew the importance of protecting himself. He wore masks, socially-distanced, and stayed home for the most part. He survived the first few months of the pandemic. 

“But just like a lot of other people, he got tired of being constrained to the house. He got tired of wearing his mask; he got tired of social-distancing because he’s a people person,” Sharp said.

Sharp suspects his father may have caught the virus during the funeral for his cousin in June. Before he knew it, his father was fighting for his life.  Sharp saidwhen his father was first admitted into the hospital, his first two tests came back negative for COVID-19 before a third came back positive. Within two weeks of testing positive for COVID-19, at age 69, he died.  

“I thanked him for being the world’s greatest dad, and I promised him I would take care of his wife — my mom — and I promised him that I would always remember and honor him,” Sharp said.

Now, Sharp said he feels one of the best ways to honor his father is to warn other families it can happen to them, too.

“I just feel like the people who live in this country, live in this world, need to be more aware and [use more] precaution and better-position themselves to follow the safety guidelines that we’ve been given,” Sharp said.

“I’m definitely going to miss him,” Sharp said. “I don’t see how I’m going to go fishing without him.”