Keyshia Cole is mourning yet another monumental loss in 2021. The “Heaven Sent” songbird has lost her father and namesake Leon Cole. Keyshia has very publicly shared her family dynamic since early on in her career, and people are well aware that while not her biological father, Leon raised and took care of Keyshia when her birth parents could not. Keyshia took to social media today with a lengthy post paying homage to Leon.
Leon Cole passed from complications with COVID-19. Keyshia’s adopted mother Yvonne Cole reported on Saturday via Facebook that Leon had lost his battle with the deadly disease. In a joint statement they said, “With a heart of sadness and sincere condolences, we solicit your prayers for Dr. Yvonne Cole and the Cole family in the passing of Mr. Leon Cole, Jr.” The statement continued “You are welcome to leave your prayers and any heart warming messages as they deal with the passion of Mr. Leon Cole Jr., due to COVID-19 complications. We appreciate the support for the family around the world.”
In a statement released to her IG, Keyshia thanked Leon for raising her and giving her his last name. “He’s the entire reason my last name is COLE, The only father I knew, he did such a great job here on earth!!!!! He made sure (Even tho he wasn’t my biological father) to keep a stable foundation and roof over all of our heads during our upbringing!!!!” she told her followers. Keyshia’s captioned continued “He was the greatest example of love, 51 years of marriage to my mother Yvonne Cole. Seriously the most loving guy I’ve ever known. And he’s gonna be missed so much! I hate that this has happened !!! And that I’ve now lost two beautiful souls within a few months from each other.”
Keyshia Cole is having to deal with the loss of her father only 4 months after the passing of biological mother Frankie Lons. Lons passed on her 61st birthday after relapsing. She struggled for years with substance abuse and was in and out of jail. Frankie and Keyshia’s relationship was well documented over the course of their various reality shows.
When Frankie passed, Keyshia took to her socials with an equally emotional post about the woman who gave birth to her. “This is so hard man. Can’t really even find the words. SMH. I honestly don’t even know how to feel. You can never prepare for something like this… Ever!!! but you will be missed.” She continued “I created this post to show my love and appreciation for your life and I would like to thank my fans + supporters, shooot your supporters and fans, for being here with us during these hard times, and the love that you all have for us…..the love for all your children was definitely felt.”
Keyshia Cole has been candid about how tough this has all be for her. Frankie’s funeral was especially hard because Keyshia because she wanted to bring all her siblings together. This was particularly difficult because several of them were fighting and some had COVID. In a heartbreaking post from Frankie’s funeral, Keyshia said “We will miss you, I tried to spend as much time close to her as I could, in that church. When we got to the mausoleum, I asked if I could see her one last time.”
