New Hampshire EEE victim remembered as avid golfer and sports fan

A New Hampshire man who died of eastern equine encephalitis, the state’s first fatal case of the virus since 2014, was remembered by family members as a happy, healthy, “hard working kid” and they urged people to beware of the disease.

Steven S. Perry, 41, of Hampstead, NH, was healthy before he contracted the mosquito-borne disease known as EEE, according to his brother, Jim.

“It’s shocking for sure,” Jim Perry said in a phone interview with the Globe on Wednesday. “He was just a great athlete, a hard working kid. Just a great brother.”

Perry died at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston surrounded by his family on Aug. 19 “after being struck by a sudden and rare brain infection,” according to his obituary.

Jim Perry said his family wants people to be aware of the dangers of EEE.

“At 41 years old, if this can effect someone who is healthy… we want people to be careful and be aware of it,” he said. “It’s around.”

His mother Judith told WMUR-TV in New Hampshire she hopes people will recognize that mosquitoes aren’t just annoying little bugs and covering up outside and using repellent can make all the difference.

Jim Perry said his brother, Steven, was the youngest of his siblings, and he loved sports.

“He was the baby of the family,” recalled his brother. “I have loved to golf, I have enjoyed Barstool Sports and the NFL.”

Jim Perry said Steven’s condition deteriorated rapidly after he contracted EEE.

“It was extremely sudden,” said his brother. “He basically didn’t feel well one morning.”

Jim Perry told Steven “went from perfectly healthy and happy” to being “airlifted to Mass General.”

“Within a week that disease went right through him,” he said.

Born in Haverhill, Steven Perry attended Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, where he played varsity basketball and soccer. After graduating in 2001 from he went on to attend Bryant University, and he “took great pride in his career as director of Hampstead Nursing Services working alongside his mother for many years,” according to his obituary.

“He was also an avid Boston sports fan whose knowledge and passion for sports was beyond measure,” his obituary said. “Though his time with us was cut short, Steven had a sense of adventure, lived a full life and was happiest spending time with his family who meant everything to him. He had many fond memories of the times he spent with his grandparents and later his brother on Big Island Pond and was looking for new adventures on Kingston Lake. “He was an avid golfer and enjoyed the game even more when playing with his nephews.”

Jim Perry expressed gratitude to the staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital for doing everything they could to help his brother.

“The care he got at Mass General, they were exceptional. They were compassionate,” he said. “They really did their best to fight this. They did the best they could. “They were amazing.”

Emily Sweeney can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.