George Clooney mourns the death of his sister Adelia at the age of 65

George Clooney he has announced the death of his sister Adelia “Ada” Zeidler in 65 years.

Us Weekly can confirm that Clooney’s older sister died of cancer on Friday, December 19.

“My sister, Ada, was my hero,” he said People. “He faced cancer with courage and humor, I have never met someone with such courage. [Clooney’s wife] Amal and I will miss him very much.”

Zeidler’s obituary stated that he “passed away peacefully surrounded by the people he loved” in St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Kentucky.

Zeidler was described in her autobiography as a “talented artist” who put her talents to extraordinary use as an art teacher at the Augusta Independent School in her hometown of August, Kentucky.

“In high school, his academic success qualified him as a National Merit Scholar,” reads the online obituary. “His love of reading connected him to other students in the local book club. He was also a member of the Augusta Art Guild and was the grand marshal of Augusta’s Annual White Christmas Parade.”

Zeidler was born on May 2, 1960, to a beauty queen and city councilman You are Bruce Warren and a respected journalist Nick Clooney. His younger brother George arrived almost a year to the day on May 6, 1961.

Besides his teaching work, Zeidler was an accountant. She married her late husband, a retired army captain Norman Zeidleron March 14, 1987, near “the banks of the Ohio River in Augusta,” according to the Kentucky Photo Archive.

“The whole city [of Augusta] it helped with the marriage,” Zeidler’s mother Nina told a local newspaper at the time.

Norman died of a heart attack in October 2004, according to The one from the North.

“In addition to his parents, [Ada] she is survived by her loving children, Nick Zeidler and Allison Zeidler Herolaga and her husband, Kenny; his brother, George Clooney and his wife, Amal; and several uncles, aunts, and cousins,” his obituary read.

Ada’s funeral will be held on Monday, December 22, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Maysville, Kentucky.

While Ada lives a very private life, she attended her younger brother’s wedding to his wife Amal at the Aman Canal Grande Hotel in Venice, Italy, in September 2014. (George and Amal are parents to twins Ella and Alexander, 8.)

George has spoken occasionally about his bond with Ada over the years. He told CBS This Morning in 2015 that he was “very close” to his sibling.

“I have a niece and a nephew,” he said. “My nephew has just been installed as king [prom king].”

The two-time Academy Award winner looked back on special moments with Ada during their friendship as part of a speech at the Workhuman conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville in March 2019, according to The Tennessean.

“On Christmas morning, when we woke up, before we opened the presents we would walk an hour and a half to someone’s house and spend Christmas morning with these people, bringing gifts,” the actor recalled. The understanding was that we are all in this together. It taught me a lot.”

The Clooney family maintained close ties to their hometown of Augusta, Kentucky, to the point of having a local area named the Clooney Community Center in their honor.