Natalie Cole’s Sisters Promise to Honor Her Musical Legacy

Singer Natalie Cole, daughter of icon, Nat King Cole passed away on New Year’s Eve after battling a slew of medical issues that stemmed from years of drug abuse.

Cole publicly addressed her crippling dependency on heroin and crack cocaine back in 2007 in her autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder where she detailed the genesis of her addiction, which started while she was a student attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and continued throughout the infancy of her career.

She also shares the heartbreaking episode involving her young son Robert who almost drowned in the family swimming pool due to her negligence while she was drugged up.

Cole eventually sought treatment at a rehab center in 1983 but by then the damage to her body had already been done. She confirmed in 2008 that she had contracted Hepatitis C – a liver disease that enters the system when the patient has been in contact with infected blood.

Cole admitted that her dangerously careless lifestyle was responsible for her diagnosis since she had indulged in intravenous drug use for an extensive period of time.

Her health deteriorated over the years forcing the singer to appear on the Larry King Show to make an appeal for a kidney due to her kidney failure that required her to endure dialysis three times a week for nine months. She finally received one in 2009 but that didn’t curb the systematic breakdown of her overall health.

Cole ended up succumbing to congestive heart failure after canceling several public appearances in December 2015.

Her twin sisters Timolin and Casey both 54 are grateful that they were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with their ailing sister and have vowed to continue her legacy by using it to leverage her immense contribution to the arts as a way to encourage and influence the younger generation.

Timolin expressed this in a statement, “We hope that her passion for music serves as an example t o young people around the world to work hard and make their dreams come true”.

She also gave a solid indication of how they are working towards their mission alongside Cole’s son Robbie, “To that end, we will continue our family’s commitment to music as we provide music education to children with the greatest need and fewest resources through our nonprofit organization, Nat King Cole Generation Hope.

The sisters ended their statement with gratitude and fortitude, “We are honored to carry on the Cole family legacy that Natalie so passionately embraced”.