The Niece of Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb has been found dead with her dog by her side as her family pay tribute to their ‘beloved girl’ and worry they will not be able to give her a fitting send off because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bernice Gibb Rhoades, 56, known to friends and family as Beri, was found unconscious in bed at her home in Las Vegas by her husband Chino on Thursday, April 15.
Beri’s family have paid tribute after she died of a suspected heart attack days after receiving her second dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
Beri’s mother Lesley Evans, 76, told MailOnline: ‘I don’t even know what to say – I am so angry that this has happened to my beloved girl.
‘She was fit, healthy and happy, but now we face the future without her. These past few days have felt how I did when we lost Andy. I was so numb and I used to pretend he was still on tour to cope with the pain.’
Bernice Gibb Rhoades (pictured), 56, known to friends and family as Beri, was found unconscious in bed at her home in Las Vegas by her husband Chino on Thursday, April 15
Her death is the latest tragedy to hit the Bee Gees, who had a string of number one hits including Saturday Night Fever, which became the soundtrack for the hit John Travolta film.
Barry’s younger brother Andy, who dated Dallas star Victoria Principal after divorcing his first wife Kim, died in 1988 of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, after years of cocaine abuse. He had just celebrated his 30th birthday.
Then Maurice, a reformed alcoholic, who was married to singer Lulu and second wife Yvonne, died suddenly aged 53 at Miami’s Mount Sinai Hospital in 2003 after complications from a twisted intestine led to a cardiac arrest.
And Maurice’s twin Robin, who was married to second wife Dwina Murphy, as well as having a child with his housekeeper, died in 2012 of kidney failure at the age of 62.
Beri spent her early years in Britain with her grandparents Barbara and Hughie, who she called Mum and Dad, but emigrated to Los Angeles with her family when Barry, Maurice and Robin formed the Bee Gees.
Barry’s younger brother Andy (pictured on New Year’s Eve in 1987 with Beri), who dated Dallas star Victoria Principal after divorcing his first wife Kim, died in 1988 of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, after years of cocaine abuse
Keen to be an actress, she went to the Debbie Reynolds School of Arts at the age of 12.
She met husband Chino as a young Marine and they lived happily in Nevada for 31 years.
A post-mortem is expected to be held into her death but her family believes she suffered a heart attack.
A memorial service will be held on Beri’s birthday but – because of travel restrictions during the pandemic – her mother, who lives in Australia, is unsure whether she will be able to attend.
A post-mortem is expected to be held into her death but her family believes she suffered a heart attack. Pictured, Beri
Lesley added: ‘Covid-19 has turned all of our lives upside down in a way that we never imagined, and now it’s safe to say that we won’t even be able to say goodbye to our daughter.
‘I am just so furious that they keep pushing this vaccine out there when people are at risk due to unknown underlying conditions. Beri was healthy and living a life full of love and adventure.’
Beri’s cousin Nick Endacott Gibb and sister Debbie McLane, who have recorded their first single together, are also grief-stricken.
Nick, Maurice’s son, said: ‘Beri’s sister, Debbie, told me the terrible news and my heart just goes out to Lesley and the rest of the family.’
