The Oak Ridge Boys were hit with a double whammy on Easter Sunday (March 31.) The country-gospel quartet is grieving the deaths of two treasured family members. First, Norah Lee Allen, wife of lead vocalist Duane Allen, died after a long illness. Just hours later, the band announced that Donna Sterban, wife of bass singer Richard Sterban, had lost her father.
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Oak Ridge Boys Share News of Donna Sterban’s Father’s Passing
On Sunday evening (March 31), the band shared the heartbreaking news of Donna Sterban’s father’s passing to its official X/Twitter account.
“Prayers for her family at this time of loss,” the post reads. “Quite a memorable Easter this year… the Good News is the promise of eternity with Jesus who CONQUERED death that we may live …”
Richard and Donna Sterban have been married since 1988 and have five children.
Support poured in on social media from fans. “Prayers for sweet Donna and her family.. two very special souls went to Heaven today,” one X/Twitter user wrote.
Another user wrote, “Sorry to hear prayers to you all on this day. What a welcome he and Norah Lee must be having with Jesus!”
Band Grieving the Loss of Norah Lee Allen
Just hours earlier, Duane Allen had shared a post linking to the Southern gospel legends’ official news release on the death of his 76-year-old wife, Norah Lee Allen.
“This is so difficult for me to post, but I want you to know why I have missed some singing dates,” the 80-year-old Texas native wrote on X/Twitter Sunday (March 31.)
The Oak Ridge Boys’ official X/Twitter account also shared Allen’s post. “We have lost the matriarch of our family,” the post read. “The sweetest soul that any of us have ever known.”
Allen died at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, surrounded by her loving family. “We took time singing with and to her, telling her stories, and loving her every second that God let us share her here on Earth,” Allen said in a statement shared with friends and family.
[RELATED: Oak Ridge Boys Mourn the Death of Longtime Guitarist’s Mother]
Norah Lee married Duane Allen in 1969, but music was in the Kentucky native’s blood long before then. She began singing with her sisters in The Stuart Sisters Trio, which her father formed when she was just 3 years old. She eventually became a full-time backup singer at the storied Grand Ole Opry.
In their news release, the band wrote of Norah Lee’s “unmistakable” talent and “unquestionable” professionalism.
“Norah Lee Allen embodied the gentle soul and firm conviction of a successful lifelong music artist,” the note read. “As a wife, mother, and grandmother, she earned the admiration of the entire Nashville music establishment.”
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
