Aretha Franklin is said to be surrounded by those closest to her as the legendary singer receives hospice care.
A source close to Franklin tells CNN’s Don Lemon the 76-year-old “Queen of Soul” is being visited by people close to her who are reading messages from friends and loved ones, holding her hand.
Stevie Wonder and her ex-husband Glynn Turman, paid the singer a visit, Franklin’s publicist Gwendolyn Quinn told CNN. Rev. Jesse Jackson visited her on Wednesday, Quinn said.
Franklin’s nephew Tim Franklin told PEOPLE Magazine that the music legend was, “Alert, laughing, teasing, able to recognize people.”
“Family is there with her,” he said. “She’s home.”
“I saw her a week ago Friday and we talked for about 45 minutes to an hour. My brother was there on Saturday and she was alert, talking, laughing, joking,” Tim continued. “She’s watching TV, so god forbid she sees all of this ‘Aretha’s dead,’ so I don’t want to dampen her spirits on that.”
Tim told PEOPLE that while the singer “is sick,” her family is “trying to keep her spirits up and go from there.”
“We believe she’ll pull through it, she believes she’ll pull through it, and that’s the important thing,” he added.
Sources: CNN.com, The Blast, Bossip.com, People.com, Twitter.com
