Keyshia Cole’s adoptive father, Leon Cole, who raised the singer, died months after she lost her biological mother.
The 40-year-old singer was adopted by Leon and Yvonne Cole when she was two years old.
Cole is a highly-regarded R&B singer with three platinum-certified albums.
She is best known for her singles Love, Heaven Sent, I Should Have Cheated, and I Remember.
The singer revealed the news on Twitter when responding to a fan account paying their condolences.
“I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your father!! I’m praying for you and your family during this difficult time!!” the account wrote on Twitter with Keyshia replying, “Thank you.”
On Instagram, Cole paid a lengthier tribute to her father, revealing his cause of death was complications due to Covid.
“He’s the entire reason my last name is COLE, The only father I knew, he did such a great job here on earth!!!!!” she wrote in the caption, alongside a photo of the pair, adding: “He made sure (Even tho he wasn’t my biological father) to keep a stable foundation and roof over all of our heads during our upbringing!!!!”
She said that her adoptive father was an AC Transit bus operator and married her adoptive mother, Yvonne Cole, for 51 years until his death.
In the statement, the 40-year-old singer also laments losing her biological mother almost four months ago.
“Seriously, the most loving guy I’ve ever known. And he’s gonna be missed so much! I hate that this has happened !!! And that I’ve now lost two beautiful souls within a few months from each other.”
Keyshia Cole’s biological mother died on her birthday
As previously reported on Monsters & Critics, the Heaven Sent singer’s biological mother, Frankie Lons, died of a drug overdose on her birthday in July.
Her cause of death was ruled an accidental overdose on her 61st birthday. Lons is well-known for appearing in Keyshia Cole’s reality TV series, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is, and her spin-off series Frankie & Neffe.
Keyshia’s late biological mother’s battle with drug addiction was well-documented as the singer kept her fans up to date with her mother’s progress.
In the tribute to her adoptive father, Keyshia shared a photo of Leon, Frankie, and her first son with former NBA player Daniel Gibson.
Keyshia’s biological father is an award-winning boxing coach
The singer met her biological father, Virgil Hunter, at age 34. He is a famed boxing coach who trained Andre Ward, an undefeated, world champion retired boxer.
Cole believed her biological father was an Italian man, based on what her late mother suspected. However, a DNA test confirmed Hunter is her father, and the two appeared together on Love and Hip Hop Hollywood.