OPRAH'S LAST GOODBYE

The media mogul bid a fond farewell to the man who made her the woman she is: her dad Vernon Winfrey

- NICI DE WET

SHE credits him with changing the course of her life and being there for her during a childhood fraught with trauma and neglect even though it was never 100% certain that he was her biological father.

So when Oprah Winfrey's dad, Vernon Winfrey, died recently at the age of 88 after a long battle with cancer, it was bittersweet for the TV tycoon.

She was saddened by the loss but relieved his suffering was over and honoured that she could be by his bedside when he slipped away. A week before Vernon's death, Oprah threw him a surprise party at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, and shared a clip of the intimate gathering shortly after news of his passing broke.

"Less than a week ago we honoured my father in his own backyard," she says.

"He felt the love and revelled in it until he could no longer speak.

In another clip from the occasion, a dungaree-clad Oprah can be seen standing in front of a sign that reads "Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Celebration" as preparations for a barbecue continued in the background.

"We want to celebrate with him while he's able to receive the joy," she tells the camera, held by her best friend and fellow talk-show host Gayle King, who was among the guests. "He doesn't know it's for him; he thinks it's a Fourth of July thing. He doesn't know it's really for him.

Oprah (68) shared delightful details, posting about the meal, which included fried chicken, hamburgers and brisket, before showing Vernon seated in a barber's chair, commemorating his 50 years as a barber.

She later spoke poignantly of the day he died. "Yesterday with family surrounding his bedside, I had the sacred honour of witnessing the man responsible for my life take his last breath," she wrote. "We could feel peace enter the room at his passing. That peace still abides. Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts. Remember to celebrate each other.