a nearly 100-foot tall oak, crashed down on him in the darkness and driving rain as he stepped out of this truck. my mom called me and my uncle had to break it to me. reporter: duplessis said a tree limb severed an artery in his leg. as they waited for medical help to arrive, a relative held him. she was with him when he took his last breath and i m so thankful that he was not alone. they say duplessis recited the our father prayer and asked that one last message be shared with his wife. tell hope i love her. those were his last words. storms like hurricane ida changed lives. the damage can t be measured solely by the physical destruction. storms take symbols of the past. a lot of plaster damage. reporter: joy banner is the communications director for the whitney plantation museum, wes .
that s the nightmare chasity fathery and her family are cleaning up. i close my eyes and just see the tree hitting him. it s just it s horrible. the tree that he hated. the tree that he hated. he wanted it gone? he wanted it gone. reporter: 60-year-old dennis duplessis was finishing last-minute storm preparations at his home in louisiana. that tree that he hated so much, a nearly 100-foot tall oak crashed down on him in the darkness and driving rain as he stepped out of this truck. my mom called me and my uncle had to break it to me. reporter: duplessis says that a tree limb severed a an artery in his leg. as they waited for medical help to arrive, a relative held him. she was with him when he took his last breath. and i m so thankful that he was