At her father Vernon Winfrey’s funeral on Thursday, July 14, Oprah Winfrey’s best friend Gayle King was there to support her.
Vernon, a Nashville politician and businessman, died on July 8 after a long battle with cancer. He was 89 years old. His funeral was held at Temple Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Many Hollywood celebrities and business leaders have been there.
A memorial service for Vernon was held at the Robert E. Lewis Memorial Chapel on July 13. Oprah posted on Instagram that her father passed away. She said: “We honored my father in his own backyard less than a week ago.” “My friend Wintley Phipps, who is a gospel singer, sang a song for him. He FELT the love and was so happy he couldn’t speak.”
“Yesterday, with my family at his bedside, I had the sacred honor of seeing the man who saved my life breathe his last,” Oprah said. “When he died, we could feel peace coming into the room. peace is still there. Everything is good. Thank you for praying and thinking of me well.”
On July 4th, the day before his death, Oprah held a “Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Celebration” for her father. On Monday, Oprah’s close friend and “CBS Mornings” host, Gayle King, paid tribute to Vernon.
King said, “My table talk is a tribute to Vernon Winfrey.” “Vernon Winfrey was Oprah’s father. You may have heard that he died in Nashville on Friday at the age of 89. Now, this sad news comes less than a week after Oprah surprised him with a backyard cookout. She called it a Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Day Party and it was great.”
She ended her speech by talking about how she found out about Vernon’s death and how important it was to Oprah. “I was at dinner in Idaho on Friday night when I got a text from Oprah saying, ‘Gone.’ I knew what that meant because she had been in Nashville for the past few weeks and he had cancer that had spread all over his body,” King said.
“She knew it was only a matter of time but he thought the tribute to him was a Fourth of July party and when he came out and saw all the people he knew and loved and that Oprah was doing this for After he did it, he said, “I didn’t know I was loved that much.” It was very touching to hear people pay tribute to him and see him take it all in, King said. “He said, ‘You know, I just want to do it for my 90th birthday,’ which is early next year. Oprah said, “You know, it’s not about the years, it’s not about a number. It’s about what you did while you were on this earth.’”
“I really feel like when the time came and Oprah was there, as it turned out, she was in the room, she said it was very powerful to see someone die like that, but at least I think he was in.” Peace was and I think she was at peace. She’s always been a very good daughter, but he was really unique,” King said.
Oprah wrote on Instagram, “My dad is ill so we wanted all of his friends to come out and celebrate him while he’s still absorbing it all.” Vernon is Oprah’s dad. For many years he also ran a hair salon and was a member of Nashville’s Metro City Council.
In the first part of her The Life You Want forgiveness class, Oprah spoke about her father, Vernon Winfrey, who died on July 8. She praised him for how hard he worked and said that because of him, she never missed an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in its 25-year run. She then said he battled stage four cancer with the same dedication and joy he has for his life. Oprah went on to share why she was glad she followed her gut when she decided to make her dad’s final days happy.