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<\/p>\nToday, the wonderful Reba McEntire is 68 years old and she truly deserves all the praise she can get. Personally, it feels like she has been around all my life and I still listen to her, several times a week.<\/p>\n
But everything hasn\u2019t been milk and honey in Reba\u2019s life \u2013 this year marks the 32nd anniversary of a plane disaster that claimed the lives of several of her friends.<\/p>\n
After making her breakthrough in country music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Reba McEntire was named \u201cbest singer\u201d four years in a row by the Country Music Association. She also, of course, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n
But despite her fantastic career and all her success, life has also been pretty tough for Reba \u2013 she has had her fair share of personal tragedies.<\/p>\n
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In 2022, Reba\u2019s mother Jacqueline lost her battle with cancer , passing away at the age of 93.<\/p>\n
Jacqueline McEntire always held the dream of being a professional country singer and it was she who taught Reba to sing \u2013 thus realizing her ambitions through her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left knowing how much she is loved and we all know how much she loved us. We\u2019re all going to miss her but we have so many wonderful memories,\u201d Reba said.<\/p>\n
Reba certainly knows what it is to endure sorrow and loss.<\/p>\n
32 years ago, in on March 16, she lost seven of her band members and her tour manager, who died in a tragic plane crash after a concert.<\/p>\n
I remember that day in 1991. I was driving to work and I heard about the crash on the radio. My heart skipped a beat when I thought Reba was also in the plane.<\/p>\n
But she wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Reba and her band had performed in San Diego on March 16, 1991, and was heading to Fort Wayne, Ind., to perform their next concert on the tour.<\/p>\n
Two planes were waiting at the airport in San Diego \u2013 the band members and tour manager flew on ahead while Reba, her husband and manager stayed overnight in San Diego.<\/p>\n
The first aircraft tragically met with disaster just ten miles east of the airport.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Reba has often paid tribute to her lost friends.<\/p>\n
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In an emotional interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2012, she spoked out about the day her band perished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tip of the wing of the airplane hit a rock on the side of Otay Mountain, and it killed everyone on the plane,\u201d McEntire told Winfrey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were notified, Narvel (Reba\u2019s manager) went and met with our pilot, and he told us what had happened. And Narvel came back to the hotel room where I was \u2014 it was two or three o\u2019clock in the morning \u2014 and he said one of the planes had crashed, and I said, \u2018Are they OK?\u2019 He said, \u2018I don\u2019t think so.\u2019 I said, \u2018But you\u2019re not sure?\u2019 He said, \u2018I don\u2019t think so.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Reba had tears in her eyes as she recalled the details of the tragedy.<\/p>\n
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\u201cNarvel was going room to room with a phone and calling \u2026\u201d she began, pausing as tears came to her eyes. \u201cI\u2019m sorry \u2014 it\u2019s been 20 years, but it\u2019s just like \u2014 I don\u2019t guess it ever quits hurting,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I can see that room. I can see Narvel walking back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, 32 years has passed since the crash. Recently, she posted a photo of her band on Instagram recalling the day\u2019s tragic events from that day.<\/p>\n
In 2020, she posted another tribute to her friends.<\/p>\n
\u201c29 years ago today, I lost my friends in a plane crash. The timing of Mama\u2019s passing with that anniversary seems appropriate,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they\u2019re all in Heaven together and taking care of each other. Let\u2019s keep finding ways to take care of each other down here on earth and never take one moment with our loved ones for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reba\u2019s fans stepped up immediately and sent their support to the country star.<\/p>\n
Many people sent positive thoughts and prayers.<\/p>\n
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This year, in 2023, Reba once again demonstrated that she will never forget her friends and that she still mourns their tragic loss.<\/p>\n
\u201dTheir love for music and the stage gives us all the strength to go on,\u201d she wrote and shared a video of the group performing together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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