Anita Pointer, one of the founding members of the Pointer Sisters, passed away Saturday, her family announced. She was 74.
“While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted in knowing she is now with her daughter, Jada and her sisters June & Bonnie and at peace,” her family addressed in a statement.
“She was the one that kept all of us close and together for so far. Her love of our family will live on in each of us. … Heaven is a more loving beautiful place with Anita there.”
Pointer’s only daughter Jada Pointer died in 2003, and her sisters Bonnie and June passed away in 2020 and 2006 respectively.
Pointer’s publicist Roger Neal said the Grammy winner was gathered by family at the time of her death.
Ruth, Anita, Bonnie and June, who’s the daughters of a minister who also had 2 older sons, grew up singing in his church in Oakland, California.
The quartet brought a unique fusion of funk, soul and 1940s-style jazz, scat and pop to their act, often dressing in a retro style that resembled their forerunners the Andrews Sisters.