It’s been nearly a year since Braxton Family Values favorite Traci Braxton died. The singer and reality star died at 50 years old. Her famous sisters have continued to keep her legacy alive. One way her sister Towanda has done so is by rocking a shaved head, which she says she does in solidarity for Traci.
Towanda Braxton explains shaving her head bald in solidarity of her sister Traci’s cancer battle
Fans of the show are familiar with how close the Braxton sisters are. Despite their turbulent relationships at times, they’ve always banned together when it matters. And when Traci became ill, they all joined forces to support her in her health battle.
One way they did so was with their own appearance. As Traci’s illness progressed, she experienced hairloss. To show her love, Towanda shaved her head. But until recently, she never explained why she did so. She took to Instgram live to explain her decision.
“People have been saying, ‘Oh, I hope Towanda’s not sick.’ No, I’m not sick. As a matter of fact, I cut my hair in solidarity for Traci,” she explained. “The whole family, we all said that we were going to cut our hair. And I don’t think that my family ever thought that I would cut my hair because y’all know that I’ve always loved my wigs. But I cut my hair. And when I cut my hair, and I was going back and forth to see Traci. Traci saw my hair, and she said, ‘Umba, you look so beautiful with your hair like that.’ And she would rub my head, and she’s say, ‘You look so beautiful. I love your hair like that.’ So, for Traci, I just had to keep it. Because Traci said that I looked beautiful. So, I kept it for my Traci.”
Traci Braxton died of cancer after a one-year private battle
Fans were devestated to learn of Traci’s illness. In March 2022, the family announced in a joint statement that she’d passed away after a private cancer battle.
“We have come to a time where we must inform the public that after a year of privately undergoing a series of treatment for Esophageal cancer, our beloved Traci Braxton has gone on to glory,” her longtime husband, Kevin Surratt, said in a statement to NBC News.
Traci and Surrat’s only child, a son named Kevin Jr., took to Instagram to pay tribute to his beloved mother. “When I heard the news about my mother being sick first thing she said was, I’m going to fight and beat this,”he wrote in an Instagram post. “She fought to the end, and today she’s at peace.”
A public memorial service was held in her hometown of Maryland, with fans able to stream it live. The Braxton family held a private Celebration of Life Ceremony in Georgia on April 2 on what would have been Traci’s 51st birthday. They wore shades of green in her honor, which was Traci’s favorite color.
How the Braxton sisters honor Traci with a special piece of jewlery
To ensure they carry Traci everywhere with them, the sisters hold some of her ashes in a locket. “We, all the sisters, have a hummingbird locket, and it’s a locket because her ashes are actually in it,” Tamar said during a guest hosting spot on Dish Nation, explaining that Traci had a large tattoo on her back of five hummingbirds to represent her bond with her sisters. “We all have one, and the reason being is because she wanted to go everywhere we went.”
She added: “If I don’t have it on, it’s in my purse, it’s in my bag. It’s close to me. She wanted to be a hummingbird, and she looked at us as hummingbirds. So, here’s to my forever angel hummingbird.”
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