{"id":254775,"date":"2017-11-20T13:57:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-20T18:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=254775"},"modified":"2017-11-20T13:57:02","modified_gmt":"2017-11-20T18:57:02","slug":"with-the-angels-r-i-p-della-reese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2017\/11\/with-the-angels-r-i-p-della-reese\/","title":{"rendered":"With the angels: R.I.P., Della Reese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The star most familiar for her role in \u201cTouched by an Angel\u201d has died. From Variety:\u00a0<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Della Reese<\/a>, who segued from pop and jazz singing stardom in the \u201850s and \u201860s to a long career as a popular TV actress on \u201cTouched by an Angel<\/a>\u201d and other shows, died Sunday night at her home in California. She was 86.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was an incredible wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and pastor, as well as an award-winning actress and singer. Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people,\u201d actress Roma Downey, Reese\u2019s co-star on \u201cTouched By an Angel,\u201d said in a statement announcing Reese\u2019s death. \u201cShe was a mother to me and I had the privilege of working with her side by side for so many years on \u2018Touched by an Angel.\u2019 I know heaven has a brand new angel this day. Della Reese will be forever in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBS, home of \u201cTouched By an Angel,\u201d also hailed Reese\u2019s legacy as an entertainer who focused her career on uplifting her audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor nine years, we were privileged to have Della as part of the CBS family when she delivered encouragement and optimism to millions of viewers as Tess on \u2018Touched By An Angel,\u2019 \u201d CBS said. \u201cWe will forever cherish her warm embraces and generosity of spirit. She will be greatly missed. Another angel has gotten her wings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reared in gospel, Reese became a seductive, big-voiced secular music star with her No. 1 R&B and No. 2 pop hit \u201cDon\u2019t You Know\u201d in 1959. The 45, her first single on RCA Records, was a ballad drawn from an aria from Puccini\u2019s opera \u201cLa Boheme.\u201d<\/p>\n

She ranged through a series of releases that showed off her mastery of standards, jazz and contemporary pop through the early \u201870s, and over the course of her career she received four Grammy Award nominations.<\/p>\n

By 1969 she had launched her TV show \u201cDella\u201d \u2013 the first talker hosted by an African-American woman \u2013 and had begun a move into an acting career that would take her to even greater national prominence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Kate O\u2019Hare notes Roma Downey\u2019s tribute, and also one from the creator of \u201cTouched by an Angel,\u201d Martha Williamson. Check it out. \u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

For a different side of her career, take a few minutes to savor this clip of her singing in 1956:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WHZl2OCIppU<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The star most familiar for her role in \u201cTouched by an Angel\u201d has died. From Variety:\u00a0 Della Reese, who segued from pop and jazz singing stardom in the \u201850s and \u201860s to a long career as a popular TV actress on \u201cTouched by an Angel\u201d and other shows, died Sunday night at her home in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":254779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11252],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-open-mind"],"yoast_head":"\nWith the angels: R.I.P., Della Reese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The star most familiar for her role in "Touched by an Angel" has died. 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