Lady Gaga’s 88-year-old grandfather Joseph Germanotta passed away on Friday.
The pop-star talked about his illness during a concert in Nottingham, England in May and dedicated her song ‘Speechless’ to him.
“I don’t always talk about my personal life but my grandpa’s sick,” she told the audience.
“And I’m really close with my grandpa and he’s really sick and he’s in the States and my dad’s with him. So I was, like, crying all day, really sad. So I thought I might just be honest and tell you that’s what’s going on.”
Her father had called and asked her to dedicate ‘Speechless’ to her grandfather, she said.
“So it’s been one of those tough things that my grandpa’s too old to come to my show, but I suppose if we sing loud enough, he’ll be able to hear us. So this one’s for you grandpa,” she added.
Two days before his death, Lady Gaga, with her boyfriend Luc Carl at her side, visited with her grandfather in the nursing home in New Jersey where he was living.
Mr. Germanotta was a World War II vet and is survived by his wife of 57 years, Angeline, as well as his son Jospeh and granddaughters – Gaga and her sister Natali.
The family requests that donations be sent in Germanotta’s memory to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at www.michaeljfox.org.