Penn. Man's Father and Son Die of COVID within 36 Hours of Each Other: 'My World Is Destroyed'

A Pennsylvania man is burying his father and his son within a day of one another after they both died of COVID-19.

Alan Collins Jr., a restauranteur in Washington, Pennsylvania, is mourning the deaths of his loved ones, who died within 36 hours of each other, WPXI reported.

Collins Jr. told the news station that his dad, Alan George Collins, Sr., was admitted to the hospital last week after exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. He got the call no parent wants to receive while he was at the medical center visiting his dad: his son was getting rushed to the hospital as well.

"We are rushing your son to the hospital. He is weak and can't breathe," Collins Jr. recalled his daughter-in-law, Mahogany Brown, telling him. From that conversation, Collins Jr. had a sinking feeling: "They told me he was on a ventilator like my father. I knew it was going to be bad," he said.

According to a GoFundMe campaign set up to raise money for Collins Jr.'s son Alan David Brown Sr.'s family, the younger family member died on Sept. 29, the day after his grandfather on Sept. 28.

Brown is survived by his wife Mahogany and their four children: Mahiya, Alan Jr., Bryson and Sabrina.

"Alan loved football and music," wrote Brown's mother-in-law, Tonya Wilson, on the GoFundMe page. "He enjoyed watching the Steelers and Pitt, and could often be found tailgating on the weekend during football season."

"He also loved Lebron James and Nike Lebron tennis shoes," she wrote, adding that he was the founder of Pittsburgh's largest shoe Facebook group, Kicks on Flame.

Mahogany told Pittsburgh's Action News that her husband contracted the virus from their 9-year-old son, who came home with COVID-19 from school earlier in September. She said that neither she nor Brown had been vaccinated. It is unclear if his grandfather had been vaccinated.

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"People need to put their masks on. People need to get vaccinated. People need to do everything they can to protect yourself," she told the news station. "I'm 30 years old and I'm a widow. You don't hear that."

In an update to the GoFundMe on Thursday, Wilson added, "My daughter and grandchildren go to bury their grandfather today and father tomorrow. I believe in the power of prayer. Help our family with prayer today. Share our story… get vaccinated."

On Facebook, as his father and son were in the hospital, Collins Jr. shared that his restaurant would be closed for a couple days. The day after Brown died, he wrote, "Thank you everyone for your prayers for my dad Alan collins sr passing. But i won't be open tomorrow either because my oldest son alan Is now currently on a ventilator. Im losing my mind right now. God please help me !!"

On Sept. 29, he shared a photo of the trio to mark his son's death, writing that his world had been "destroyed."

"My son also lost the fight tonight. now my dad and my first born passed one day apart," Collins wrote. "They are gone ! My world is destroyed💔 i really dont think i will recover from this !! Please love your family !! Put your differences aside and just love !! I don't know when i will reopen . i have 2 funerals to plan a daughter and grand babies to console. god why why why😢i will always trust in you god ! help me please."

On Monday, Collins Jr. shared a photo of his son's family.

"This is my son Alan david brown and his beautiful family. He was my best friend and i can never talk to him again," the devastated father wrote. "He was a beautiful soul who would give anyone the shirt off his back ! I will never be the same. Please pray for his family they are lost without him."

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the CDC, WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.