Singer Carly Simon has paid tribute to her elder sisters, Lucy and Joanna, after they both passed away from cancer one day apart.
Simon’s oldest sister, Joanna, died of thyroid cancer on Wednesday (19 October), at the age of 85. Lucy died the following day of metastatic breast cancer, aged 82.
In a statement to People, Simon said the loss of her “incredible” siblings will be “long and haunting”.
“I am filled with sorrow to speak about the passing of Joanna and Lucy Simon. Their loss will be long and haunting,” Simon said.
“As sad as this day is, it’s impossible to mourn them without celebrating their incredible lives that they lived.
“We were three sisters who not only took turns blazing trails and marking courses for one another, we were each other’s secret shares. The co-keepers of each other’s memories.”
The sisters used to perform together in a folk group named the Simon Sisters before finding individual success.
Lucy had a successful career on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony award for her work on the musical The Secret Garden, which premiered in 1991.
Meanwhile, Joanna began her career as an opera singer, later becoming a journalist. She died one day before her 86th birthday.
“I have no words to explain the feeling of suddenly being the only remaining direct offspring of Richard and Andrea Simon,” Simon said.
She added that her sisters “touched everyone they knew and those of us they’ve left behind will be lucky and honored to carry their memories forward”.
After leaving music in 1990, Joanna took up a position as an arts correspondent for PBS NewsHour, formerly known as MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour. Here, she won an Emmy Award for a documentary about manic depression and creativity.
Lucy also co-produced several albums, including In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record and In Harmony 2, both of which won Grammy Awards for best children’s album.
Lucy and Joanna’s deaths following the passing of the siblings’ brother, Peter, who died of a cardiac arrest in 2018 at the age of 71.
