‘Little House on the Prairie’ actor dead: Hersha Parady was 78

nypost.com:

according to The Hollywood Reporter. In an effort to help cover expenses of his mother’s hospital bills, Peverall set up a GoFundMe page at that time, raising $20,482. “Hersha, who has always been an active and outgoing woman, is battling a tough medical condition – a brain tumor known as meningioma,” wrote Peverall. “This illness has robbed her of her strength, her memory, and sadly, her vibrant personality.

She has become largely bedridden, and it is very difficult to see my Mom, who was once full of life and energy, now struggling with basic daily activities.”Peverall revealed that he and his family managed to move his declining mother to his family’s home in Virginia and sought the best care possible.“From moving expenses to in-home nursing care, to medical equipment and more, the financial burden is significant,” continued Peverall. “And with a full-time job and three kids, providing her with the level of care she needs is difficult.” The Post reached out to Parady’s son for further comment.Parady rose to fame in the late 1970s when she joined Season 4 of “Little House on the Prairie” as Garvey, alongside former NFL star Merlin Olsen, who played her onscreen husband, Jonathan Garvey.The actress remained with the show for 35 episodes until her character was killed off in the sixth season, at which time she met a grizzly end in a schoolhouse fire attempting to rescue the infant son of characters Mary and Adam (played by Melissa Sue Anderson and Linwood Boomer).

After the highly popular episode aired, some “Prairie” fans were convinced that Parady had used a doll as a means to smash a locked window. “They did not rig the windows to break easily and I’m not, as [series star] Michael Landon pointed out a lot, a meek,.