The death of renowned talk show host Oprah Winfrey’s father was announced by Nashville Metropolitan Councilwoman Sharon Hurt on Saturday, July 9, according to WKRN-TV News 2. Apparently, Vernon Winfrey passed away on Friday night.
Vernon Winfrey, Winfrey’s father, passed away at the age of 88 after a battle with illness. There is no other information about the octogenarian’s passing at this time. Additionally, it is unknown what kind of cancer the Nashville resident had.
Despite the mourning period, Oprah Winfrey has not yet confirmed the news of her father.
What is known about Vernon Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey’s father?
Oprah Winfrey was the child of Vernon Winfrey and his then-girlfriend, Vernita Lee, in 1933. They were never married but had a brief relationship. According to rumors, Oprah’s father was a businessman and barber.
Vernon Winfrey had previously served in the army and had relocated to Nashville in 1955, according to Jill Nelson’s 1986 biography of him in the Washington Post. After working a few odd jobs, sometimes two at once, Winfrey decided to become a barber in 1964. The article went on to say:
He has served as an elected member of Nashville’s Metro Council since 1975, representing the 5th District, which is predominately black. His 15,000 constituents have twice given him their support.
Until he was considerably older, Vernon Winfrey reportedly trimmed hair in his Tennessee barbershop. His career as a barber spanned more than 50 years. As a result, Vernon was elected to the National Barber Museum’s Hall of Fame and became a member of the organization.
The bond between Vernon, Oprah Winfrey’s father, and her
Oprah Winfrey’s father was still employed when she was born in 1955. Oprah was nurtured by her maternal grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, after her birth until she was six years old. In Katherine E. Krohn’s biography of the proprietor of The Oprah Winfrey Network (ONN), Oprah allegedly suffered from Lee’s abuse and lived in squalor.
Oprah was initially transferred to Nashville in the early 1960s to temporarily live with her father. But when Winfrey was nine years old, her mother urged her to go back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Vernon Winfrey claimed to have sobbed at the time he left Oprah with her mother. The mother of the well-known talk show host apparently worked as a maid and was not particularly attentive to her daughter because her job kept her busy.
Oprah was expecting at the age of 14 after experiencing numerous family members sexually assaulting her in Milwaukee. A premature son who was born to her did not live. After this experience, Winfrey was brought up by her father, who is said to have been harsh yet emphasized academic achievement. She would then go on to inform Nelson:
“The direction of my life was altered when my father kidnapped me.
He delivered me. He merely understood his expectations and desires. No less would do for him.”
Even though Winfrey’s mother passed away in 2018, the multibillionaire TV producer her mother did not get along. With her father, though, everything was different. Winfrey celebrated the Fourth of July earlier this week in memory of her father. She shared on Instagram how she had planned a barbecue in Nashville with her immediate family particularly for him.
She shared a video of the celebration in one of the postings and wrote in the description that she was giving her father “his ‘flowers'” while he was still healthy enough to do it.