Patti LaBelle recently revealed something that still brings her to tears to this very day. It was something that her beloved baby sister, Jackie, who passed away from lung cancer in 1989 while she was in her early thirties asked of her. While speaking about this on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Masterclass show, Patti talked through her pain as she discussed losing her three sisters and both of her parents to cancer, diabetes, and emphysema within a 4 year span. Her mother, Bertha, passed away from diabetes, her father, Henry, died from emphysema and her three sisters- Barbara, Vivian, and Jackie- all died in their early 40’s from cancer.
As if the pain of losing all of those family members wasn’t enough pain for any one person to bare, there was one other fact that Patti said she still thinks about to this day- the fact that her sister asked her to fix her an egg sandwich when she was in the hospital on her dying bed and Patti promised her that she would instead bring it to her the following day, unfortunately, the next day was just too late. Here’s what Patti explained (WATCH HER VIDEO INTERVIEW ON PAGE 2):
We just had a fun-loving, fighting family. And then they all died.
Jackie, the day before she died, she asked me to make her egg sandwich. I had just gotten off the road. I said to my aunt — because Jackie couldn’t speak very well — I said, ‘Aunt Hattie Mae, tell her I’ll make it tomorrow.’
She said, ‘Don’t rush. Your sister just passed.’
I held that, and I still hold it. It was such a minor thing for me just to make a sandwich, because she loved the way I cooked. I miss my sister Jackie like crazy.
Although Patti missed her final moment with her sister- a moment she will never forget, she still finds a way to inspire others with the lessons she’s learned about that missed opportunity to fulfill her sister’s last request and embrace her one last time:
I learned a lot. Live your life today, because you have no idea what can happen in the next hour… Love the ones you love, but let them know you love them.
She knew I loved her, but I was busy touring and I was too tired to make that sandwich that day. So do it now. Do everything you can for your family. Life is strange. Take advantage of each day like it’s the last day of your life.
Truer words have never been spoken and we thank Patti LaBelle for sharing her words of wisdom with the world. This is for any of us out here who may have needed that slight tap on the shoulder as a reminder to love on those you love every chance you get, because you never know when that extra hug, that extra small gesture you did for them to put a smile on their face, may be the last opportunity for any of us to have those moments that we’ll cherish for a lifetime.
