Tributes have continued to pour in for the Jackson 5 founding member and Michael’s older brother, Tito Jackson following his sudden death on September 15, at the age of 70.
The latest of the tributes came from Michael Jackson‘s children, Prince and Paris, who eulogized their uncle, Tito, in a statement posted on their Instagram handles yesterday.
According to a family representative, Tito suffered a heart attack while driving from New Mexico to Oklahoma on Sunday.
Taking to her Instagram Story on Monday, Paris, 26, shared a throwback photo of her late father – who passed away in June 2009 – and Tito, and wrote alongside it, ‘Rest in transition Uncle Tito,’ with a red heart emoji.
Meanwhile, Prince, 27, shared a group family photo on his Instagram, which included several members of the famous family surrounding Jackson matriarch, Katherine, and captioned it: ‘Love you forever Poppa T’.
Tito’s son, TJ was quick to comment on the post and wrote: “He always spoke so highly about you Prince and was so proud of the man you have become and your love for family. Thank you for being such a great nephew to him.”
On Monday, Steve Manning – the Jackson’s family friend and former manager – confirmed that Tito suffered a heart attack while he was on the road.
The music star told his best friend he ‘couldn’t breathe’ and ‘wasn’t feeling good’ moments before he was rushed to a New Mexico hospital where he later died.
Terry Harvey Maltbia, Jackson’s business associate and best friend, said that he and the singer were in Gallup, and had stopped for some food before getting back on the road to Tito’s ranch in Oklahoma.
“We just got done eating turkey and chicken, laughing and talking,” Terry said. “We were putting the top on the convertible because it started raining. That’s when Tito came back on the passenger side window and said, ‘My chest is hurting. Can you help Ronnie to finish the (car) top?’
“He said, ‘I ain’t feeling good in my chest’. He wiped his face off, took off his shirt and it was like someone had threw a bucket of water on him’.”
Terry said he flagged officers who were nearby and Jackson was then rushed to a local hospital, where he passed away.
The musician is survived by his three children, Taj, Taryll and TJ, and his nine grandchildren.