State memorial for Olivia gets the nod
A STATE memorial for Dame Olivia Newton-john is set to be held after her family indicated they would accept an offer by the Victorian government.
The Grammy Award-winning Aussie actor and singer passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California surrounded by family and friends Monday morning local time, aged 73.
It comes after a long battle with breast cancer during which the beloved entertainer became a champion for can
cer therapies and treatment.
Her niece Tottie Goldsmith revealed the family would accept a memorial in Victoria but Newton-john would be laid to rest at her ranch. “She will be on the ranch. She will be (with) her horses and her dogs and her chickens and her daughter and her husband. So, we’ll be doing a state memorial,” she told the Today Show on Wednesday morning.
She indicated she and her brother Brett would be meeting with Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday.
Ms Goldsmith said she is
in constant touch with Newton-john’s daughter, Chloe Lattanzi.
“She’s been, you know, lying in bed next to Liv. Oh. It’s just … You know. It’s … You can’t put words to this experience. Chloe has been amazing and really strong and so in our heart. Area. I’m just really happy that Liv made it home to be able to depart,” she said.
Ms Goldsmith said she can “feel her peace,” adding, “I can feel it. She is … She’s out of pain which is a massive relief for those who loved her so much, immediate family and close friends that are family.”
She said she Facetimed with Newton-john just before she passed away but it was “one-sided”.
“She was on her way out. So, it was me speaking to her and I asked John if I could put the phone to her ear. He face timed, which was bittersweet, because it was very hard seeing her that way but it was a gift. Because, um, her … Her mouth moved and so I think she was telling me that she could hear me.”
Goldsmith last night revealed a secondary infection led to Newton-john’s worsening condition, adding that the icon remained so op
timistic in her final days the family partly believed she “could suddenly come back”.
“But it wasn’t just the cancer that got her, it was other complications. Being in a hospital with a very susceptible immune system, she got a secondary infection,” Goldsmith told A Current Affair on Monday night.
As Melbourne landmarks, including Flinders Street Station, lit up in pink to pay tribute to the Grease star last night, Goldsmith told ACA host Tracy Grimshaw “Australia needs” a public celebration to remember the beloved entertainer.