PEOPLE confirmed that Ada died from cancer on Friday, Dec. 19. Clooney shared a personal statement, remembering her as a source of strength and inspiration.
“My sister, Ada, was my hero,” he said. “She faced down cancer with courage and humor. I’ve never met anyone so brave. Amal and I will miss her terribly.”
According to her obituary, Ada died peacefully at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Kentucky, surrounded by loved ones. She was a longtime resident of Augusta, Kentucky.
Ada was born in Los Angeles on May 2, 1960, to journalist and TV host Nick Clooney and writer Nina Bruce Warren. Named after her great-grandmother, she was known for her creativity and love of learning. She worked for several years as an elementary art teacher at Augusta Independent School.
Her obituary notes that she was a strong student in high school and qualified as a National Merit Scholar. She enjoyed reading and was part of a local book club. Ada was also active in the Augusta Art Guild and once served as grand marshal of the town’s Annual White Christmas Parade.
She later attended college in Louisville and Northern Kentucky and worked as a bookkeeper.
Ada married Norman Zeidler, a retired U.S. Army captain, on March 14, 1987, in Augusta. Much of the town attended the wedding. During the ceremony, George Clooney read scripture, and their aunt, Rosemary Clooney, sang a romantic song for the couple. Norman Zeidler died in 2004 after suffering a heart attack.
Although Ada lived a mostly private life, she attended George Clooney’s wedding to Amal Clooney in Venice in 2014.
She is survived by her parents; her children, Nick Zeidler and Allison Zeidler Herolaga, and Allison’s husband Kenny; her brother George and his wife Amal; and several extended family members.
A funeral service for Ada Zeidler will be held on Monday, Dec. 22. The family has requested that memorial donations be made to the Knoedler Memorial Library in Augusta.
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