CHRIS Rea became the third of his siblings to die in just three months – sending his heartbroken family “into shock”.
Devastated relatives of the Driving Home for Christmas singer revealed he had welcomed his first grandchild shortly before his “tragic” death.
Chris died in hospital following a short illness, a spokesperson for his family said on Monday.
In a statement on behalf of his wife and two children, they said: “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.”
The singer songwriter’s death – just three days before Christmas – becomes the latest heartbreak for his family.
His older sister, Camille Whitaker, revealed two of Chris’ siblings had also sadly passed away just months ago.
She told how her youngest sibling, Nicholas, died in hospital aged 66 in October after battling brain cancer.
Just days after his funeral, Camille’s twin sister Geraldine Milward died suddenly – sending the family into shock.
She 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.”
Prior to his death, the singer-songwriter battled a number of health issues after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over 40 years ago.
Chris reportedly went under the knife for serious ops nine times, spending over half a year in hospital following his cancer diagnosis at the age of 33.
Discussing the shock prognosis with Saga, he told how it had been his “Mount Everest” to climb.
Chris explained: “The original illness hit me hard. I almost had a nervous breakdown with the shock of it. That was the Mount Everest to climb.
“When they said it was pancreatic cancer, I could not believe it. It seemed that if your DNA says you are going to have cancer, then you can.
“They did not think I would recover from the first operation, but I was determined to do so for my wife and the girls.”
