In the beginning of this month, an Alabama couple tragically passed away two days apart, which is “just a tragedy” for their loving family members who are mourning their loss.
When asked about his late brother and sister-in-law, Johnny and Tammy Schmidthorst, Joey Prusha responds to PEOPLE by saying, “If there is any solace that makes me feel somewhat better, it’s that neither one of them is hurting anymore and they’re together.”
“However,” he continues, “it is still as difficult as hell.”
In accordance with Prusha, 43, Johnny, 48, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, August 16, due to a severe heart attack that occurred at the residence of the couple in Prattville.
Tammy attempted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him, but the medical personnel came and began working on him.
During the next day, Sunday, August 17, Prusha was with Tammy, who is 53 years old, in order to make arrangements for the funeral that would be held for his brother.
Prusha recalls that Tammy was the one who chose the coffin for him. “She picked out the song.”
“You could just see the pain in her eye,” he explains further. “She was in utter disbelief.”
Tammy was meant to send Johnny’s clothing to the funeral home on Monday, August 18, but by the early afternoon, she still hadn’t come, and nobody was able to get in contact with her. Johnny’s clothes were due to be delivered by Tammy.
A relative subsequently went to the house to check on Tammy and discovered that she had passed away in the bedroom that the couple shared. There has been no conclusion made about the cause of death of Tammy, according to Prusha, and there is no suspicion of any foul play.
“There is no information that I have received regarding the results of the autopsy,” Prusha adds. “However, despite the fact that it may sound trite, I sincerely believe that she had a broken heart.”
After being contacted for comment, the Prattville Police Department acknowledged that the investigation into her death is still ongoing and is awaiting the results of a toxicology result.
The relationship between Johnny, who ran a moving company, and Tammy, who worked at a hospital, had been going on for almost twenty years, according to Prusha. He believes that they always made an effort to assist others and to treat people with kindness. “They were the kind of people who have integrity.”
Johnny, who is Prusha’s older brother, “was always there for me,” his sibling remembers, but he also believes that their bond was more than just that. Adding, “He was my mentor,” Prusha continues. His grades were always quite high, and he was consistently at the top of his class in a variety of subjects. “And he was an incredible athlete,” she said.
His recollection is that “we continued to talk every single day,” and that “sometimes we talked multiple times a day.” Simply put, we were quite close to one another.”
Johnny’s two kids, Landon and Triston, and Tammy’s son, Tony, are the three children that the couple leaves behind from their prior marriages. Additionally, the pair has six grandchildren for whom they are responsible. What Prusha has to say about Johnny’s boys is that they are just beginning their lives. The wedding of his youngest son took place in April of this year,” To assist in covering the costs associated with the funeral of the pair, which is due to take place in Millbrook on Tuesday, August 26, family members have established a GoFundMe page.
He continues, “We are trying to give them a proper service and burial,” referring to the husband and wife, neither of whom had life insurance. “We are really trying to do this.”
According to Prusha, the manner in which he would want his brother and sister-in-law to be remembered is not so much about how they passed away as it is about how they managed to live their lives.
He explains, “They were just genuinely good people who had a servant’s heart and loved helping others.” He is referring to the individuals in question. “It was a truly tragic event,” she said. Over the course of two days, we were unable to locate them. What a terrible disaster that is.