Oprah Winfrey

Vernon Winfrey, the father to Oprah Winfrey, has died after battling a recent illness. He was 89 years old.

Born in 1933, Vernon Winfrey served on the Metro Nashville Council for 16 years during his lifetime. “Yesterday with family surrounding his bedside, I had the sacred honor of witnessing the man responsible for my life, take his last breath,” Winfrey continued. Alongside his friends and family, Vernon was saluted by gospel singer Wintley Phipps, who performed a song for him.

Oprah Winfrey confirmed her 89-year-old father, Vernon Winfrey, died Friday surrounded by loved ones and family after a battle with cancer.

"I got a call from my sister (Patricia) that she thought it was the end." Vernon thought the party would be an ordinary Fourth of July celebration but instead was shocked to see that his daughter threw him a "Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Celebration." "I had the sacred honor of witnessing the man responsible for my life, take his last breath.

Vernon Winfrey, a former Nashville city councilman and a local barbershop owner, has passed away, his daughter and TV mogul Oprah Winfrey said Saturday.

However, she also lived with her father in Nashville, between the ages of 7 and 9 and during her teens. "We could feel Peace enter the room at his passing." Nashville Mayor John Cooper offered his " deepest condolences to the family of Vernon Winfrey" and remembered him for having "dedicated his life to entrepreneurship, barbering, and mentoring young men in the community."

Oprah surprised her father by throwing him a surprise barbeque in Nashville on the Fourth of July. The event, called “Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Day,” included ...

She also lived with her father in Nashville between ages 7 and 9, and during her teens. Vernon Winfrey, the father of media mogul Oprah Winfrey, died Friday in Nashville, Tenn. at 89. “We could feel peace enter the room at his passing.”

Oprah Winfrey's father, Vernon, has died, the doyenne of daytime talk said on her Instagram account on Saturday, just days after she said the family was ...

Her father thought it was meant to be a Fourth of July celebration, she said in the video. We could feel Peace enter the room at his passing," Winfrey wrote in the post. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Well known for his barbershop, Winfrey Barber & Beauty Shop, and achievements during his 16 years Metro Nashville Council, many in the community mourned the ...

“He was funny, very funny and he meant a lot, not only to me, but to the whole community because he has been here for so long.” He said working with Vernon changed his life and knows he’s not the only one. “It is with a sad but grateful heart that I join the rest of Nashville in honoring former Councilman Vernon Winfrey. I had the good fortune to know him as a friend.

I had the sacred honor of witnessing the man responsible for my life, take his last breath,” Oprah shared on Instagram.

However, she also lived with her father in Nashville, between the ages of 7 and 9 and during her teens. "Less than a week ago we honored my father in his own backyard," Oprah shared. "We could feel Peace enter the room at his passing."

In addition to having a famous daughter, Vernon Winfrey spent 16 years on the Metro Nashville Council.

Many family and friends attended the backyard barbecue to celebrate his life. An Army veteran and deacon, he leaves behind a legacy of service,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said on Twitter. “I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Vernon Winfrey. Vernon served on Metro Council for 16 years and dedicated his life to entrepreneurship, barbering, and mentoring young men in the community.

Vernon Winfrey owned and operated an East Nashville barbershop while raising his daughter, Oprah Winfrey, who would rise to worldwide stardom.

"He FELT the love and reveled in it until he could no longer speak," Oprah Winfrey said in a social media post. "When my father took me, it changed the course of my life," Winfrey told the Washington Post. "He saved me. He simply knew what he wanted and expected. Want to read more stories like this? "Yesterday with family surrounding his bedside I had the sacred honor of witnessing the man responsible for my life, take his last breath. We could feel Peace enter the room at his passing.

The presenter confirmed the news in an Instagram post that her father died in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday. “Yesterday with family surrounding his bedside I ...

“We could feel peace enter the room at his passing.” However, she also lived with her father in Nashville, between the ages of seven and nine and during her teens. The event was called “Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Day”, which included a barber chair to honour his long career as a barber and owning his own shop in Nashville for nearly 50 years.

Earlier this week, Oprah surprised her father by throwing him a surprise barbeque in Nashville. The event included a barber chair to honor his long career ...

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Oprah Winfrey's dad, Vernon, died on Friday after a cancer battle. He was 89. The TV mogul shared a heartfelt tribute on social media remembering her ...

"I could have made a good criminal. I would have used these same instincts differently." On the Fourth of July, Oprah surprised her beloved father with a backyard barbecue, and what she called the "Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Celebration."