PALM COAST. Fla. – A Flagler County deputy lost his fight to COVID-19 on Aug. 27 and the community has since rallied around the family, who wants his legacy to live on and now, in an impactful way.
“For something to go through someone so fast you kind of just stand there and think wait what just happened,” said Tina Luciano.
Her father, Paul Luciano, a detention deputy, died after a three-and-a-half-week fight in the hospital with COVID.
“Actually, the week of his passing it was like OK, maybe he might come home. He’s doing good! Then, it just hit him and he tried to fight it. He literally was FaceTiming us gasping for breath every day,” she said.
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Tina said in the weeks leading up to his illness, her father kept saying he wanted the vaccine but would get busy and put it off.
“He kept pushing through until he could find the time and unfortunately it was too late,” she said.
Now, she’s spreading a message she said her dad wanted to get out: get vaccinated if you are able to.
“He tried to FaceTime us because it was the only communication we could have. We couldn’t go to the hospital, couldn’t even walk into the lobby, but he said ‘I love you guys, I got this.’ and a day later he was gone,” she said.
Luciano was 60 years old and leaves behind a wife, three children and grandchildren.
He started in law enforcement in 1996 and started in Flagler County as a detention deputy in 2019. Tina said even former inmates are reaching out to her family to show their appreciation for Luciano, who helped many get back on their feet.
“I’m getting the stories now from his friends from where he used to work in Volusia county to here and they’re like do you know how much your dad loved you,” she said.
Luciano’s death is considered in the line of duty.
The memorial will be Friday, Sept. 3 at Frist Baptist Church in Bunnell at 11 a.m.
The sheriff’s office and his family want anyone in the public who wants to attend the memorial next week to do so.