Coleen Nolan shares sister Linda’s final words to her before tragic death

Beloved TV personality and pop star Linda Nolan died last Wednesday, aged 65, after a five-year fight with secondary breast cancer.

Just days after writing her final moving piece for this newspaper, The Daily Mirror Columnist passed away with her famous sisters by her side.

Her sisters – Anne, 74, Denise, 72, Maureen, 69, and Coleen, 59 – were called to her bedside at 3.30am last Tuesday as doctors made the decision to place her in end-of-life care. The siblings, who lost their sister Bernie in 2013, kept a vigil by her bedside in her final hours.

Doting sister Coleen shared the sweet final moments they shared with Linda and how these final moments offer some comfort to the family since her tragic passing.

Coleen tells The Mirror: “It’s been 10 days since my lovely sister Linda died and it’s still hard to believe she’s gone. As we prepare for her funeral, when she will be buried with her husband Brian’s ashes, I’m holding on to the memory of the last day I spent with her in hospital, which was full of love and laughter.

We sat down with her and exchanged words for each other. We told her we loved her and she expressed our love to us. She didn’t shed any tears, even though she knew it would be her last visit.

Despite her deteriorating health condition since Christmas, Linda was in good spirits, adds Coleen.

She was eating the chocolate her parents had given her, being her usual funny self, and having double pneumonia while also being on oxygen. She requested information about my new grandson, so I showed her a lot of his pictures.

Linda’s hospital bed was surrounded by her nearest and dearest:” So many people came to see her, including her best friend of 60 years, Suzanne, and her stepdaughter Sarah, and the whole family were at her bedside. The nurses kept telling her to rest, but Linda, being Linda, would not stop talking! “

Her last words to Coleen will be ones she remembers fondly:” When I left that evening, I told her I’d come and visit the next day and she said, “Oh, you don’t have to” and I said, “I know, but I will” and then she said, ‘ Col, I really love you’. “

However, Coleen eventually had to make the lengthy drive home because she was aware that this might be her last encounter with her sister.

I gave Linda a big hug and a kiss as I knew it would be the last time because my sisters had told me to go because I had a two-hour drive home. I didn’t feel sad that I wasn’t there when Linda took her last breath because we had to spend that precious day together, and Maureen called the next morning to tell me that she had died.

Linda even shared her wishes before passing away, and the family is now organizing the funeral.

” She wanted everyone in black, wearing mantillas, “says Coleen”, those little lace veils that cover your face. I remember saying, ‘ You are joking, Linda! If I see all my sisters in mantillas, I’m going to laugh the whole way through the funeral! ‘

“We’ve decided not to do that, but we are wearing black. Her coffin is pure showbiz – bright pink and sparkly, just as she wanted. It feels appropriate that my sister has a glittery pink coffin because the one thing she loved was bling: her handbags, her tops, her walking stick, and even her trainers.

Although she knew it wasn’t likely, Coleen explains she had hopes that Linda might pull through one last time, saying: “Even though I knew she was gravely ill, I really thought she might pull through, as she always has…. We were rerouted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital the early in the morning.

She was unconscious when I arrived at 5:30 a.m., and we were told nothing more. My brothers and sisters were all there – Tommy, Brian, Denise, Anne and Maureen. The hospital staff were escorted in with trays of tea and biscuits, and there were about 14 of us at her bedside, with the curtains rolled around us. They were incredible.

“Linda had signed a DNR, and they turned off the monitors, started lowering her oxygen, and prescribed her morphine to prevent pain.” At 2pm, they said she’d probably go quickly, so there was devastation and sobbing, but we were still there at 9.30pm, she seemed determined to hang on”.

Linda lost her husband Brian a few months after being first diagnosed with breast cancer 20 years ago. He was the love of her life and they hadn’t spent a night apart for 29 years, says Coleen. “Then, two months later my mum died, all while Linda was having treatment. I don’t think many people could survive that, but she did”.

Despite her health issues, Linda continued to be brave. “When her cancer returned in 2020, it was never a case of” I’ve had enough”. She continued even after being informed that the cancer, which had spread to her hip and brain, was treatable but not curable.

” But the last time she saw her doctor and was told the chemo wasn’t working, her reaction was different. She was angry. She was concerned about going outside because her legs were hurting and she was starting to fall frequently. I’m heartbroken. She had planned to visit my house for the New Year, but she was too ill and exhausted to travel.

Her passing has left her and Bernie’s in 2013 as vivid memories. Our memories of the destruction our sister Bernie experienced when she lost her battle with breast cancer in 2013 have been relived by Linda’s passing.

The siblings have set up a charity page to make donations to Trinity Hospice, a fantastic local organization that provided care for Bernie and Linda. To pay your respects, visit their website.

Source: Mirror