Lisa Simone

Lisa Simone Instagram – On 25 April 2003, in Carry le Rouet, the seaside town Mom called home, her funeral was held 4 days after she made her transition in the house she loved so dearly. My husband @robkelly714 and I departed NYC on the 22nd of April and landed in Marseille on the 23rd. I took one week off from my job playing Aida in AIDA, on Broadway, to make the journey and attend to affairs as best I could. The image of Mom and I sharing a kiss was taken in my dressing room at the Palace Theatre in NYC as she wished me well before taking her seat to watch my performance. Who knew it would be the last time we saw each other? Her funeral was attended by so many, including Miriam Makeba, the crowd overflowed into the street. Flowers from contemporaries, admirers, friends, dignitaries and politicians were everywhere as condolence letters from the Prime Minister of South Africa and the Foreign Minister of France, among others, were read. The minister who oversaw the ceremony called her an apostle. When I took to the podium I sang PRECIOUS LORD and invited attendees to take a white rose to remember her by. As her casket, adorned with her favorite flowers and a banner that says it all, was carefully carried by pallbearers, cameras flashed; and as our limousine departed the church townspeople, on bicycles and on foot, raised white roses in salute as our limousine passed by. That very same banner now graces her piano. Hard to believe it has been 21 years! Nana Camille Yarborough was a friend of Mom’s, and her song PRAISE YOU felt right today. #ninasimone #remembered #whiteflowers #france | Posted on 25/Apr/2024 11:46:53