A tribute written on Oprah Daily, Oprah’s lifestyle outlet, said Oprah was able to spend time with her father in Nashville during his final weeks.
On July 4, Vernon was surprised with a “Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Celebration” and backyard barbecue, where he was surrounded by friends and loved ones.
The celebration was a way to give her father his “‘flowers while he’s still well enough to smell them,” Oprah said in an earlier post.
During the celebration, Oprah’s friend and gospel singer Wintley Phipps sang for him. “He FELT the love and reveled in it until he might no longer speak,” she wrote.
Vernon was a well known barber in his community and served on the Metro Nashville Council for 16 years.
CNN’s Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.