Celine Dion mourns loss of husband, brother

Shayn Jones

Two days after Celine Dion lost her husband of 21 years, the singer is now mourning the loss of her older brother, Daniel.  

Dion lost her husband Rene Angelil to throat cancer on Thursday, Jan. 14, and two days later, her brother Daniel Dion succumbed to the same form of cancer.  

“It is very sad. I can’t imagine losing two family members within a few days of each other,” said Sarah Hosler, junior education major. “More and more deaths occur from cancer. It’s a horrible tragedy.”

 Daniel was 59 years old and like Dion’s husband, he too had a long battle with various types of cancers.

 Dion cancelled her Las Vegas shows following Angelil’s death and has scheduled her return to The Colosseum for Feb. 23, but it is unclear if she will take more time following the subsequent death of Daniel.

Dion posted an official obituary about her brother to social media, asking for privacy while she and her family grieve their losses.

 According to the obituary, Daniel’s tribute will take place Saturday, Jan. 23 at Salon Charles Rajotte in Repentigny. A religious ceremony will also take place St. Simon-Et-Jude in Charlemagne, Quebec, where the family was raised.

 Angelil died Thursday in the Las Vegas home in Henderson that he shared with Dion and their three children after a long battle with throat cancer.

 More than just a famous spouse, Angelil began his career as a singer in the late ‘60s. He later switched over to the management side and played a huge part in Dion’s career as a mentor and manager. The couple got married in 1994, but they first met when she was 12 years old. They have three sons together, including a pair of 5-year-old twins. Angelil has three older children from a previous marriage as well.

 “Celine Dion’s husband will be memorialized in the same cathedral where they married,” ABC News tweeted on Jan. 16. 

 A state funeral will be held next Friday in Montreal at the same church at which the two were married in 1994.

 “I would be really sad. Things would go through my head like I should have done this or that with them, but I would also be happy because I had that time with them,” said Whitney Bergman, freshman biochemistry major. “I bet it is stressful and sad. Anyone passing away in your family is sad.”