Singer and TV personality Traci Braxton, the second oldest of the famed Braxton sisters, has died, the family announced on social media Saturday.
Traci, 50, passed away after a year-long battle with esophagus cancer, TMZ reported citing her husband Kevin Surratt.
“We have come to a time where we must inform the public that after a year of privately undergoing a series of treatment for Esophageal cancer our beloved Traci Braxton has gone on to glory,” Surratt told the outlet.
Traci, who released two studio albums including her debut Crash & Burn in 2014, was surrounded by family and friends at her death bed. She spent her last year in hospice care, her publicist Tomasina Perkins-Washington told NBC News.
“It is with the utmost regret that we inform you of the passing of our sister, Traci,” Toni Braxton, her elder sister, tweeted on Saturday along with a picture of the five Braxton sisters. “Needless to say, she was a bright light, a wonderful daughter, an amazing sister, a loving mother, wife, grandmother and a respected performer. We will miss her dearly.”
“Traci passed this morning as the snow was falling, our angel is now a snowflake,”
Toni Braxton said in a follow-up tweet. “We ask that you respect our privacy as we plan to send her home with love, celebrating her life.”
“When I heard the news about my mother being sick first thing she said was I’m going to fight and beat this,” her son, Kevin Surratt Jr., wrote on Saturday along with an Instagram photo of the two embracing. “She fought to the end and today she’s at peace.”
Traci Braxton, whose “Last Call” reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was a regular on the family’s reality TV show, Braxton Family Values, which also followed Braxton siblings Toni, Tamar, Trina, Towanda and Michael. The show aired for seven seasons on WE tv.
Traci’s other on-screen appearences include in films Sinners Wanted, There’s a Stranger in My House and Chaaw, which is set to release on May 27.
Traci is survived by her husband, son, siblings and mother.
Story Credit: thegrio Staff
Photo Credit: Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for WE tv (published by thegrio)
