OPRAH’S THANKSGIVING TRAGEDY
Oprah Winfrey’s mother Vernita Lee died aged 83 at her home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thanksgiving. She was laid to rest in a private funeral last week.
She had four children, including Oprah, and two who passed away before her – son Jeffrey Lee, who died in 1989, and daughter Patricia Lee Lloyd, who died in 2003. Another daughter, Patricia Amanda Faye Lee, was put up for adoption.
Vernita spoke of how proud she was of Oprah, saying, “I loved her the way that she loves people now,” and that her proudest moment was when she “did The Color Purple” [film] in 1985.
Previously Oprah spoke of her childhood, including the difficult relationship she had with her mother when she was young, while she was living between Vernita’s and her father Vernon Winfrey’s homes.
“I suddenly land in a place that’s completely foreign to me. I don’t know anybody. I don’t really even know my mother,” she told the Huffington Post . “I walked into that space feeling completely alone and abandoned.”
Despite this, their relationship did get better.
“Thank you all for your kind words and condolences,” Oprah shared on Instagram.
“It gives our family great comfort knowing she lived a good life and is now at Peace.”