Day After Ballerina Dies at 29, Her Mom Also Dies

The family of Michaela DePrince, the war orphan turned trailblazing ballerina who died suddenly at age 29 Friday, is doubly grieving—because DePrince's mother, Elaine DePrince, died the very next day. The elder DePrince did not know about her daughter's death the day prior, a family spokesperson writes in a statement on Facebook that adds, "As unbelievable as it may seem, the two deaths were completely unrelated. The only way we can make sense of the senseless is that Elaine, who had already lost three children many years ago, was by the grace of God spared the pain of experiencing the loss of a fourth child." The 77-year-old died during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery she was scheduled to undergo that same day. Her daughter's cause of death the day prior has not yet been revealed.

Elaine DePrince and her husband had 11 children, nine of whom, including Michaela, were adopted, Glamour reported in 2015. Three of their adopted boys had hemophilia and all died of AIDS after contracting HIV from blood transfusions in the 1990s, the Guardian reports. DePrince, a special education teacher, became an adoption advocate and a hemophilia activist, and authored several books. She co-authored Michaela's memoir, Taking Flight, the New York Post reports. (More obituary stories.)