Barbara ‘Babs’ Thore, the much loved mother of My Big Fat Fabulous Life star Whitney Way Thore, has died at the age of 76.
Whitney broke the news to her Instagram followers moments ago with a photo slideshow that included an audio recording of Whitney and Babs. In the lengthy, heartfelt statement that accompanied the slideshow, Whitney revealed that the entire Thore family (Whitney, dad Glenn Thore, and brother Hunter Thore) were all with Babs when she passed.
The announcement comes just a few days after Whitney posted a video with Babs. The two were laughing as Whitney sang along to Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass.”
In addition to sharing details about the medical condition that eventually took her mom’s life in today’s post, Whitney also stayed positive by revealing that Babs loved, and was so appreciative for, the support and positive comments she received from the fans of the show.
“We want to thank you for loving our mother,” Whitney wrote. “She delighted in her newfound television career more than we can describe!”
“The support from all of you made her feel so loved and encouraged,” Whitney revealed towards the end of her message. “We are unbelievably thankful that we’ve been able to share her with you and it is our hope that her memory will continue to be a source of comfort and happiness for the rest of your lives, just as it will be for ours.”
Rest In Peace Barbara.
Here is Whitney’s gallery followed by her full statement:
Rest In Peace, Sweet Mommy. June 22, 1946 — December 7, 2022
My mother died last night just as the credits rolled on her favorite movie. Dad, Hunter, and I held her as she took her last breaths. It was 10:32pm, the same exact time she brought me into this world almost forty years ago.
My mom had cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which is an untreatable progressive condition caused by proteins in the blood vessels of the brain that can cause dementia, seizures, or like in my mom’s case, brain bleeding (hemorrhagic strokes). When mom had her first stroke in 2017, we were told of this and we knew that more strokes would eventually be inevitable. Mom’s second stroke was December 28, 2021 and her last was November 13, 2022.
My mother is our family’s greatest gift. We could never love, revere, or value another person more. If you’re reading this, you’re familiar with her magic: her southern charm, her hilarious sense of humor, her well-timed witty remarks, her beauty, and her ability to make everyone around her feel comfortable and cared for. But what you can’t possibly understand is the extent of my mother’s love — what you may have witnessed and felt through a TV screen is a minute fraction that, even if multiplied by a million, wouldn’t come close to “real life.” That’s how enormous, how generous, and how all-encompassing my mother’s love was. I am the luckiest person on the planet to have been hers for almost 39 years.
We want to thank you for loving our mother. She delighted in her newfound television career more than we can describe! It gave her such a sense of purpose and excitement and something to look forward to every time the crew came around. This last year navigating life after her second stroke was, perhaps surprisingly, the best of our lives. We never had more fun or laughed as much as we did the past year. The support from all of you made her feel so loved and encouraged. We are unbelievably thankful that we’ve been able to share her with you and it is our hope that her memory will continue to be a source of comfort and happiness for the rest of your lives, just as it will be for ours.
I love you, Mommy.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
