Oprah Winfrey's father, Vernon, has died at the age of 88.
Oprah made the sad announcement on social media, sharing that she had just thrown a party in her father's honor. "Vernon Winfrey 1933-2022," Oprah wrote in the caption. "Less than a week ago we honored my father in his own backyard. My friend and gospel singer Wintley Phipps saluted him with song. He FELT the love and reveled in it until he could no longer speak."
Oprah also shared a clip of that special moment.
She continued, "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.
"That Peace still abides. All is well. Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts ."
Oprah had previously shared that she was having the party in her father's honor because he was ill. She called the event "Vernon Winfrey appreciation Day" and explained that she wanted to have all of her father's friends and loved ones there for the event. It seemed clear Oprah knew the end of her father's life was near, and she wanted to honor him in a big way.
Oprah's bestie, Gayle King, was there for the big event. She told Gayle in the video that her father had no idea the gathering was for him. "He thinks it's a Fourth of July thing," she said.
Oprah had a deep level of respect for her father. She previously shared that one reason for that was because her father "took responsibility" for her, even though he didn't know if she was actually his biological daughter.
"My mother and father never married," Oprah told People in 2021. "They had sex one time. He gets a letter after I'm born saying, 'Send money. You have a daughter.'"
She continued, "And the reason he did, he said, is because it could have been him. And the responsibility that he took for me, not just a responsibility but care and love and direction and support as a young teenage girl, is the thing that made the difference in me being who I am now or somebody you would have never, ever heard of."
