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George Clooney’s Sister, Adelia ‘Ada’ Zeidler, Passes Away at 65: ‘I’ve Never Seen Anyone So Brave’ (Exclusive)
George Clooney’s Sister, Adelia “Ada” Zeidler Dies at 65
Adelia “Ada” Zeidler, the sister of George Clooney, passed away at the age of 65.
PEOPLE can verify that the cancer was the cause of the death of the actor’s sister, who died last Friday, Dec. 19.
“Ada was my sister and she was my hero,” Clooney shares with PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “She battled cancer with the bravest of spirits and a great sense of humor. I’ve never seen anyone be so incredibly brave. Amal and I are going to miss her so much.”
It states in her obituary that Ada from Augusta, Ky. passed away “in a peaceful way, being with the people she loved the most” at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Ky.
Remembering Adelia “Ada” Zeidler, Sister of George Clooney
Ada, who got her name from her great-grandmother, was the the youngest in the family to be born in Los Angeles on May 2, 1960, to a journalist/TV host Nick Clooney and a writer Nina Bruce Warren.
“Being an extremely talented artist, she decided to go back to her roots as a student, and for years, she became a very successful elementary art teacher at Augusta Independent School,” according to her obituary. “Her brilliant high school performance got her the position of a National Merit Scholar. Reading was her passion, so she got together with other readers in a book club. Besides being a member of the Augusta Art Guild, she had the honor of being the grand marshal of Augusta’s Annual White Christmas Parade of the past years.”
Ada Zeidler’s Kentucky Life and Her Happy Wedding to Norman
Ada was furthering her education in Louisville and Northern Kentucky when she attended college and was employed as a secretary.
The couple got married in Augusta on March 14th, 1987. Norman Zeidler was a retired army captain whom Ada had married. According to the Kentucky Photo Archive, their wedding was also a kind of community celebration of the small town in Kentucky where they lived, as the entire family and much of their hometown were present and actively involved in the ceremony.
The siblings’ uncle George read from the Bible at the wedding, while their aunt Rosemary Clooney performed a lovely love song for the bride and groom. “The entire town came to our aid for the wedding. It would have been impossible without them,” said Nina, the siblings’ mother, at one time.
George Clooney’s sister Adelia “Ada” Zeidler memorialized as a loving mother and quiet support
Even though Ada kept her personal life out of the spotlight and seldom made public appearances, one of those times was when she went to her brother George Clooney’s wedding to Amal in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 27, 2014.
She also was not with us when her husband, retired Army captain Norman Zeidler, died. He passed away due to a heart attack on Oct. 11, 2004.
‘Besides her parents, she is survived by her dear children, Nick Zeidler and Allison Zeidler Herolaga and her husband, Kenny; her brother, George Clooney and his wife, Amal; and several uncles, aunts, and cousins,’ her obituary states.
Ada’s funeral will take place on Monday, Dec. 22, and instead of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to the Knoedler Memorial Library in Augusta.”
