Chris Rea‘s family have been left heartbroken after he became the third of his siblings to die within just three months, the Daily Mail has learned.
And in a further tragic twist the composer and singer of the ‘Driving Home for Christmas‘ anthem was said to have been overjoyed by the recent birth of a first grandchild shortly before his death on Monday aged 74.
Mr Rea’s older sister Camille Whitaker, 79, described his death as ‘tragic’ and said the sudden loss had left the family in shock coming so soon after two other deaths, of their brother and then sister.
Mrs Whitaker said the youngest of her six siblings, Nicholas, sadly passed away in a Yorkshire hospital in October from brain cancer, at the age of 66.
Then, just days after his funeral, Mrs Whitaker’s twin sister Geraldine Milward died suddenly.
Mrs Whitaker told the Daily Mail: ‘It is an awful pain. It is gut-wrenching what happened. The family has been quite shocked by it.
‘It is tragic. We can’t sort of get around it.’
Chris had been one of seven siblings, and his sister painted a picture of an idyllic childhood with her Italian father Camillo and English mother Winifred, in which Christmases were ‘wonderful’.
Mr Rea’s older sister Camille Whitaker, 79, described the death of the ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ star (pictured on his farewell tour in 2006) as ‘tragic’ and said the sudden loss had left the family in shock coming so soon after two other deaths, of their brother and then sister
Mrs Whitaker said the youngest of her six siblings, Nicholas (pictured), sadly passed away in a Yorkshire hospital in October from brain cancer, at the age of 66. Then, just days after his funeral, Mrs Whitaker’s twin sister Geraldine Milward died suddenly
Mrs Whitaker told the Daily Mail: ‘It is an awful pain. It is gut-wrenching what happened. The family has been quite shocked by it’. Pictured: Her late brother Nicholas
With the pain shared by the Rea family this year, Chris was able to experience the joyous news of the birth of a grandson, Mrs Whitaker said.
‘He lived with his wife and children in Buckinghamshire. He always kept very close to his family,’ she said.
‘He has two daughters and he recently became a grandfather, to a boy, he was very, very pleased.
‘That was wonderful. His eldest, Josephine, inspired one of his songs.
‘And Julia, his second daughter, she is the lady who got married and had a baby.
‘Christopher had terrible, terrible health and has been unwell for sometime before he died.
‘His family will be completely wrecked by it.
‘He was a very shy and quiet man. I loved him dearly.’
Mrs Whitaker said she last spoke to Chris just six days ago on the phone.
She said: ‘We kept in touch with each other.
‘I haven’t seen him for nearly two years but I talked to him about six days ago. We used to ring each other.
‘We went to two weddings together. But he has been home ridden for all of that time since.
‘He got in touch. I used to ring him and if he didn’t answer then he would call me back.
‘And he did that last week, which was very nice, not knowing what was going to happen.
‘He was very quiet and very shy. He was a bit of a reluctant star.
‘He was very quiet, he was not a great person on the phone but I enjoyed our conversations.
‘It has left me feeling very upset. It is shocking.’
Chris had been one of seven siblings, and his sister painted a picture of an idyllic childhood. Sharing an old family photograph (pictured, with Chris, left, Mrs Whitaker, right, and their mother Winifred, centre), she said: ‘Chris was the apple of my mother’s eye’
‘He lived with his wife and children in Buckinghamshire. He always kept very close to his family,’ Chris’s sister continued. Pictured: Chris with his wife Joan and daughters Julia, left, and Josephine, second right
Amid the pain shared by the Rea family this year, Chris was able to experience the joyous news of the birth of a grandson, Mrs Whitaker said, born to his second daughter Julia (pictured)
Sharing a photograph of her and Chris together as children with their mother Winifred, Mrs Whitaker told us: ‘Chris was the apple of my mother’s eye. She and my father were so proud of him.’
Reflecting on their childhood in Middlesbrough, Mrs Whitaker said: ‘Our father was Italian but born in the UK.
‘When we were growing up, there was an ice cream factory run by Italians around the corner. It was very nice.
‘Later, when Chris was getting onto the charts, he used to stay here. My husband and I used to love him staying.
‘He has been ill for some time, hiding away from most people.
‘It is sad, and it will be for a while. I’m pleased for him that he is getting a lot of coverage in the press.
‘Watching television today, it’s amazing, what is being said about him. I never realised it was that far up on the boards.
‘What I am quite moved about is the amount of press that he has got.’
She added: ‘His Christmas song is what made him, but it’s quite old now.
‘Going home for Christmas was about driving home to Middlesbrough. We would always go home for Christmas, always.
‘We had really really wonderful Christmases with my parents and the song it’s all about the things that happened.’
Paying tribute to Chris following his death, his wife Joan and their daughters Josie and Julia, said he died surrounded by his family.
They said in a statement: ‘It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris.
‘He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family.’
His iconic Christmas song has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007, including making number ten in 2021.
Chris, who met Joan when he was 16, had suffered with serious health issues including peritonitis, pancreatic cancer and diabetes.
He also suffered a stroke in 2016 but he recovered and went on to release two more albums, Road Songs For Lovers in 2017 and One Fine Day in 2019.
Chris previously said: ‘I’ve had nine major operations in ten years. A lot of it is to do with something called retroperitoneal fibrosis, where the internal tissues attack each other.
‘No one knew it existed 20 years ago, and it’s completely unpredictable.
‘It’s affected the colon, the pancreas, the gall bladder, the liver – and then I get a stroke.’
Speaking of his successes and impact on his health, he said: ‘I made a lot of money, but you can dangerously let it lead you on…
‘It depends what company you keep. I once said to Michael Winner, “I’m the poorest man on this Barbados beach. On days like today, the richest man in the world is the one who hasn’t got a bad shoulder”.’
