Martina McBride Posts Heartbreaking Note Mourning Mother’s Death After Emergency Heart Surgery

Martina McBride revealed that her mother had passed away after emergency heart surgery on Friday. Jeanne Schiff passed on Friday morning, with McBride sharing a heartbreaking note on Friday night confirming the sad news.

“My mom passed away this morning. She was a complex and amazing woman. Strong. Chic. No-nonsense. Hilarious. Witty. She had the prettiest hair and skin and hands…I loved her hands. She took good care of us. Our house was always the house where all the aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered, and she was really the reason for that. She made her 4 kids self sufficient, told us to go outside and play, gave us chores to do and taught us how to work,” McBride wrote on Instagram. “She wasn’t one to smother you with affection, do your homework for you, or attend every ballgame, but we always knew she was there for us. As we all got older we had many conversations about life, faith, morals, health, and the importance of getting your beauty sleep. She’d start every phone call or message with ‘Martina. This is your mother.’ She loved to laugh and to tell stories to get a laugh. And even though she told me in the hospital that she wasn’t ‘an enthusiastic cook’ she made the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted.”

“I spent the last week with her in ICU, with my dad, my brothers, and my sister, and a fantastic and caring team of doctors who went above and beyond to try and get her to a place where her heart would sustain her. During that week I held her hand, rubbed her shoulders, stroked her face, told her I loved her and she told me she loved me,” McBride continued. “Even though I wish it had ended differently I wouldn’t have traded that time with her for anything. So now we try and move forward without our matriarch. And somehow, in time, we will. Because she taught us how to be strong. I love you Mom. 1/10/20”

McBride had opened up about her social media absence early on Friday morning, posting a message to fans on Twitter explaining where she had been and her mother’s impending surgery.

“I’ve been absent on social media because I’ve spent the past week with my family surrounding my mom with love 24/7 in a Kansas hospital following her emergency heart surgery,” McBride wrote. “She’s a fighter and one of the strongest women I know but she could use your prayers please. Thank you.”

The Grand Ole Opry member’s note prompted an outpouring of support from her fellow country music artists. This includes Trisha Yearwood, who commented, “love and strength” on the Instagram post, and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild praising the story shared by McBride.

“I’m so sorry Martina. Love you and your family. What a heritage she gave you!!!” Fairchild wrote.

Sara Evans also commented, posting that she loved McBride so much alongside several heart and crying face emojis.

Before the tragic news and reveal about her mother’s health, McBride launched a podcast where she is sitting down with her contemporaries in country music, including a few legends like Loretta Lynn too.