Joan Collins Says Goodbye to Sister Jackie Collins in Moving Essay: "I Don't Think I'll Ever Recover" From Her Loss

Actress recalls the phone call when she found out her family member was ill

By Mike Vulpo Sep 27, 2015 9:54 PMTags
Jackie Collins, Joan CollinsAP Photo/Evan Agostini

When it comes to writing, it's safe to say Jackie Collins was the best in her family.

But in an emotional new essay, Joan Collins is remembering her sister with special memories and powerful words of her own.

"Jackie really enjoyed her life so much and lived it to the hilt, and when we were together, even if we hadn't seen each other for a few months, we were thick as thieves," she wrote on her personal website. "I don't think I will ever recover from the sadness of losing my beautiful baby sister."

She continued, "Someone once said: ‘The reality is you don't "get over" the loss of a loved one, you learn to live with it.' I think Jackie would have liked us to do more than that. As she requested, I will not mourn her death, but rather celebrate her life."

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Jackie passed away Sept. 19 after a secret battle with cancer. She was 77 years old. More than six years ago, the best-selling author was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, but chose to keep it entirely to herself except for her three daughters.

In her recent essay, Joan remembered the phone call that included a tearful confession from her family member.

"My voice was so choked with tears I could hardly speak. She explained that since we spent so much time in Europe, while she was in LA, she knew I would be worried but there would be nothing I could do," Joan recalled. "That was typical of my sister. She always put other people, particularly family, ahead of herself."

As the grieving process continues, Joan remembers her sisters' greatest attributes that include her unconditional love for family, pop culture and writing.

"I therefore choose to remember her as the strong, independent, loyal, caring, maternal, fun-loving, witty, joyful woman she was," Joan shared. "She will live on in the wonderful memories I have of her from our childhood and particularly from the last 15 years."

She concluded, "I feel her spirit, I hear her wonderful laugh and I see her all the time in the hundreds of photos of her sprinkled around my home. She wasn't just a star—to me she was an entire galaxy."

Joan asks fans to consider making a voluntary donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization in honor of her sister.

Watch: In Memoriam: Fallen Stars of 2016