Gabrielle Union mourns father’s death in heartfelt tribute: ‘I know his love is eternal’
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Gabrielle Union said her father, Sylvester “Cully” Union Jr., died after battling dementia.
Gabrielle Union announced her father, Sylvester “Cully” Union Jr., has died after battling dementia.
Writing in a post on Saturday (April 4), the “Being Mary Jane” actress said, “It’s bewildering to feel relief that the pain has ended, but profound heartbreak at the finality of his time.”
Union was also candid about the hardship of loving and caring for someone with dementia, an umbrella term describing the loss of cognitive functioning, and how the condition can change the person you once knew.
“No matter how much you think you know about dementia, nothing prepares you for the painfully slow disappearing of your loved one. First it’s repeating words or forgetting little things here or there, then BOOM, he can’t swallow or walk. The them that you know gets smaller and smaller.”
She continued, “You hold out hope for sustained eye contact or a smile; even a hand squeeze can make you feel like they could come back to you “normal” at any second. It’s brutal and it’s what he experienced, but it wasn’t who he was.”
According to TMZ, Sylvester was 81 years old. On his 80th birthday, Union urged followers to cherish the time they had left with their loved ones, and to “always show up and show love.” She even shared an intimate moment, showing how she still felt her father’s love for her as he struggled with the progression of the condition.
“What dementia has robbed him of, his heart and soul have recovered,” she said. “When my Dad saw me, he said, ‘I really love you.’ And I said, ‘I love you too Dad.’ Then he replied, ‘How’s your Mom?’ And with the gas face, I simply said, ‘Sir 😵💫.’ He then asked if I was happy and I told him I was. He nodded and with a grin asked, ‘You not taking no shit are you?’ And I said, ‘Never.’ He told me he loved me again and that interaction stayed with me all day and made me pretty emotional.”
To honor her father, Union celebrated the “perfectly imperfect” man her father was; someone who made mistakes and worked to evolve and make amends, and also someone who was the life of every party, her first ally, and the caretaker of everyone in his community.
“I know I’m not the first or last Daddy’s girl to go through this, and I’m sending love and healing to anyone suffering the loss of a parent,” she said. “I know his love is eternal and will find me in every realm.”