Yahoo News Kate Spade's father dies hours before her funeral
Just two weeks after designer Kate Spade died aged 55, her father, Earl F. (Frank) Brosnahan, has died at 89, his family announced in a statement on Thursday (June 21).
Funeral services for Spade were just about to start at the time of the announcement, the Kansas City Star reported.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that Katy's father, Earl F. Brosnahan, Jr. (Frank), passed away last night at age 89. He had been in failing health of late and was heartbroken over the recent death of his beloved daughter," the statement read.
"He was at home and surrounded by family at the time of his passing."
JUST IN: Kate Spade's father, Earl F. Brosnahan, Jr., has died. He was 89.
"He had been in failing health of late and was heartbroken over the recent death of his beloved daughter," a family statement reads: https://t.co/WdXeGAyOkk pic.twitter.com/9MaWAmWEpE- Good Morning America (@GMA) June 21, 2018
Brosnahan, who lived in Kansas City, Missouri, was a veteran of the US Navy who took over his family's construction business from his father. He and his wife, June Therese Mullen, were married in 1953 and had six children, including Kate, before divorcing in 1972. He remarried, and his wife, Sandy Palmer, was by his side when he died.
He told the Kansas City Star he hoped some good would come out of conversations surrounding his daughter's death.
"One thing we feel is that any talk that they do that helps somebody else, Katy would have liked that," he said. "She was always giving and charitable. If that helped anybody avoid anything-fine, she'd be delighted."
Kate Spade New York announced plans on Wednesday (June 20) to donate $1 million to mental health awareness and suicide prevention charities.
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