Former CNN Anchor Mourns Her Late Mom Just 40 Days After Her Dad's Passing
Tragedy strikes again for former “CNN” anchor, Soledad O’Brien, as she mourns the loss of her mother, 40 days after her father passed away.
Soledad O’Brien has had a beautiful career as a broadcast journalist, but these days, she is feeling more sad than happy. On Monday, she took to Twitter to share the news of the death of her mother, Estella O’Brien.
She learned two more languages fluently —English and French, and became an educator. She had a reputation for being super-strict, which made me very popular (not!) since she taught at my high school. pic.twitter.com/ew5GbCzsHi
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) March 18, 2019
Paying tributes to her deceased mum, the television personality shared a series of photographs which she used to depict her mother’s life. The first picture showed a young Estella in 1930, wearing a gown with her hair laid back.
The former “CNN” anchor wrote that her mum was an immigrant from Cuba, who left to find a better life. The next picture taken in the early ‘40s showed the immigrant smiling.
My mom died today. Joining my dad who passed away 40 days ago. She was a pretty remarkable lady. An immigrant from Cuba, she lived with the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore during college. Here (on the left) she is in Cuba in the 1930s. pic.twitter.com/oZNzEqa7ig
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) March 18, 2019
O’Brien pointed out that her mother was sad to leave her home, but had to, as she hated how Castro destroyed Cuba.
The mother of six went back once, and on her return, vowed never to go back. The thread went on to show the deceased parents. The political show host wrote that although her grandparents were poor, they sent her mother to study abroad.
She and my dad sent all six of us to college and many of us to grad school. Here we are touring Harvard. I’m scowling in the front row, age 12. pic.twitter.com/wKKIqDgRAp
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) March 18, 2019
Estella became an educator and stayed with the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore while in college. The Cuban native also got married to Edward O’Brien in 1959; a time when interracial marriage was not allowed.
O’Brien shared a photo of her parents in 1966, and she is the baby in the picture.
She’d go on to marry my dad (mixed race marriages were illegal in Maryland in 1959). The year their sixth child (my little brother) was born the US Supreme Court would overturn the ban on interracial marriage. Here she is with me and dad. pic.twitter.com/2sDaLc0LlQ
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) March 18, 2019
The 52-year-old then described her mother as “Pretty awesome” adding that her greatest wish was to have many young and working women learn from her wisdom.
The broadcaster got a lot of condolences from her followers. One comment read
“… thank you for sharing her story with us,” while another read “So sorry for your profound loss.”
She was pretty awesome. But mostly I wish lots of young, working women had access to her wisdom. “Everyone gets the same 24 hours. Decide how you’ll spend yours”. “Take 24 hours to sit in bed and cry.. then stop complaining and make a list and plan your comeback” pic.twitter.com/VslASFmp5H
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) March 18, 2019
The educator’s death occurred forty days after the mother of four lost her father. Edward died in February at 85, and in a series of emotional tweets, O’Brien talked about his life.
The Harvard alumni described him as a sharpshooter in the army, a professional athlete, and a scientist. The host also wrote that her father was a kind person who fought for civil rights and believed in equality.
Fun fact: he and my mom were asked by the @ACLU to be the couple that would test the ban on interracial marriage (they lived in Baltimore at the time). They declined. He was working on his PhD. Worried he wouldn’t be able to finish. Here he is with my mom: pic.twitter.com/UjcY7DonLP
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) February 7, 2019
Although grieving, the “Matter of Fact” host said she was grateful she got to say goodbye. However, her biggest regret is that the world will miss someone as good as Edward.
The deceased couple is survived by their six children who are all college graduates and doing well in their respective fields.
