One day before Daniel’s death, Céline Dion’s sister Claudette told Le Journal de Montréal that he only had days or hours to live as he was suffering from cancer of the throat, tongue and brain.
A statement released on Céline’s website said that Daniel, 59, passed away peacefully and was surrounded by his large, loving family. Daniel was the eighth of 14 siblings born to Thérèse and Adhémar Dion.
“His final days were spent in the care of the staff and volunteers at the palliative care centre Maison Adhémar-Dion. In lieu of flowers, donations to the centre would be appreciated.” read the statement.
“The family requests that in honour of their brother’s memory, their privacy be respected in this time of grief.”
Céline’s husband, René, 73, died two days earlier in their Las Vegas home in Henderson, Nevada after a long battle with throat cancer.
Céline was only 12 when she first met René in 1980. Reportedly brought to tears by her singing, René became her manager and helped her become an international star. Céline is now one of the most successful vocalists in the world, most renowned for the love theme ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic.
René was forced to resign as her manager in 2013 due to illness.
“He can’t use his mouth. He can’t eat so I feed him. He’s got a feeding tube. I have to feed him three times a day. I do this myself. So I feed my husband, then I feed my kids.” Céline told Taste Of Life magazine.
“Life is not always perfect. You have to deal with it. Whatever life imposes – sickness, or whatever, you don’t have a choice. This is life, this is nature. But you do have the choice on how you’re going to go through this.”
René’s funeral will take place next Friday at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, the same church in which he married Céline.
“21 years ago, he chose to marry the one who will remain as the great love of his life, the artist for which he had the most respect, the woman who gave him light and happiness until his very last breath,” a statement by the family spokesman read.
Dion has three sons with Angélil, René Charles, 14, and twin brothers Eddy and Nelson, five.
Céline’s publicist Francine Chaloult said that he would be remembered as a gentle man.
“Generous and kind, [he was] an unprecedented visionary, a modern Pygmalion, a Renaissance man,” said Chaloult. “[We] have lost a conqueror and a man of great substance and influence. He is now a part of the collective memory of the music industry, be it in Canada or elsewhere in the world.”
Our thoughts are with Céline and her family. The public, as well as high profile celebrities have taken to social media with messages of sympathy.
