Talk show host Oprah Winfrey (68) mourns the loss of her beloved father, who died at the age of 88 after cancer. She posts a video from a July 4th party of her father, Vernon Winfrey, sitting on a barber’s chair in the middle of a backyard cookout. At his side was the gospel singer Wintley Phipps (67), who performed a song for him.
She writes: “Vernon Winfrey 1933-2022. Yesterday I had the sacred honor of sitting by his bedside with family to witness the man who was responsible for my life draw his last breath. We could feel the peace moved into the room when he left us.” And Oprah continues to write: “This peace still dwells within us. Everything is fine. Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts.”
Oprah Winfrey has always been proud of her father
One of Vernon’s longtime employees also confirmed to TMZ that the 88-year-old died in East Nashville on Friday night.
Vernon is said to have been very popular in the community. He has owned the Winfrey Barber & Beauty Shop for more than 50 years. According to TMZ, an employee said that Vernon would even “give you his last shirt”. Oprah never made a secret of how proud she was of her father. In her then daily talk show, she and her camera team even visited her father in his shop.