“She faced cancer with courage and humor”: George Clooney announces the death of his older sister, Adelia, at 65

“My sister Ada was my hero,” says George Clooney. The 64-year-old American actor spoke in the American media to announce the death of his eldest on Friday December 19. “She faced cancer with courage and humor. I’ve never met anyone so courageous,” he tells People. She was 65 years old.

Ada Zeidler died “peacefully surrounded by the people she loved” at St. Elizabeth Healthcare Hospital in Edgewood, Ky. His funeral is scheduled for Monday, December 22.

Widowed since 2004

Born May 2, 1960 in Los Angeles, she was the daughter of journalist and host Nick Clooney and writer Nina Bruce Warren. A trained artist, she worked as a visual arts teacher at the Augusta Independent School elementary school for several years. His obituary highlights his love of reading and his involvement in a local book club.

She married Norman Zeidler, a retired Army captain, in Augusta on March 14, 1987. During the ceremony, George Clooney read a passage of scripture, while their aunt, Rosemary, sang a song for the newlyweds. Norman Zeidler died of a heart attack on October 11, 2004.

Ada Zeidler has made few public appearances, but was present at her brother’s wedding to Amal Clooney on September 27, 2014 in Venice (Italy).

In addition to her parents, she leaves behind “her beloved children, Nick Zeidler and Allison Zeidler Herolaga, her son-in-law, her brother, George Clooney and his wife, Amal; as well as several uncles, aunts and cousins,” his obituary further indicates.