NEW ORLEANS — Last week, shortly after he was diagnosed with a case of the coronavirus, Eric Paulsen did a phone interview with Eugene Jefferson from his hospital room at Touro Hospital.
At the time he was only identified as "Gene" to keep his anonymity, but Gene became the state of Louisiana's second victim of the coronavirus.
Monday, Eric Paulsen posted a heartfelt tribute to his friend on Facebook.
This is a hard post for me, the friend I interviewed the other day after he tested positive for the coronavirus, Eugene Jefferson, became the second person to die from covid 19. I’ve known Eugene for more than 30 years and he was a special guy. He was a hustler, someone who could get a ticket to any sporting event or concert when no one else could. The last 2 pictures are ones he sent me a while back when he got some kind of Coastguard award. Eugene used to stop by the station to bring me fried fish and was loved by everyone on the WWLTV morning news. I don’t know anything about funeral arrangements right now, his brother Tyrone tells me his wife Kawiana Is still in quarantine. One thing for sure, will all miss his smiling face.