Source: Brian Stukes / Getty
TV personality and activist Marc Lamont Hill is in deep mourning after losing both his father and sister back to back.
The 42-year-old shared the news on Twitter on Wednesday (Dec. 30).
“My sister died this morning,” he wrote. “We just buried our father yesterday. This is the cruelest year that I’ve ever experienced.”
It’s unclear what caused his sister’s death, but Hill shared on social media that his father had been sick earlier in the year. Back in March, he said his father was hospitalized with no visitors allowed for weeks.
“My 92 year old father is gravely ill and has spent the last 3 weeks in the hospital. He cannot be visited because of Carona [sic]. He is alone,” he wrote. “He was just discharged to his nursing home facility that it [sic] also locked down. We just have to keep calling and praying he’s ok. This is tough.”
On December 11, he shared the news that his father passed.
“My father passed away early this morning. 92 years old,” he wrote on Twitter. “I’m grateful that I got to see his face yesterday and make him laugh one last time. Although I’ve lost a great deal of my joy, I’m trying to find comfort in the fact that he has lost all of his pain. Rest Well, Dad.”
On top of the obvious stress and sadness of living through the COVID-19 pandemic this year and dealing with his dad’s sickness and isolation, before all that occurred, Hill was already grieving. He was good friends with late NBA star Kobe Bryant, who was killed alongside his daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash in January. The two met when they were teenagers in Philadelphia at a basketball camp and maintained a bond until Bryant’s death.
“I first met Kobe 26 years ago. We were kids. Had no idea where life would take us. But basketball was everything,” he wrote on Twitter the day news broke. “Last time I saw him, we didn’t discuss hoops. We were talking about life, raising daughters, and how far everybody had come. Now he’s gone. This makes no sense.”
Since sharing the news about the losses in his family, many have offered their thoughts and condolences with Hill, so much so that his name started trending on Twitter. The chances of that bringing comfort during this difficult time are little. Still, as he revealed the information with his followers and the Twittersphere, he’s likely appreciative of the messages and support.
