Tina Turner performs on stage at Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 4th April 1987. (Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns)
Photo: Redferns, Rob Verhorst. All rights reserved.
Tina Turner, who died on Wednesday (May 24), not only struggled with her health in the last few years of her life – she suffered from a serious kidney disease – but also had to cope with the loss of two of her four children. Her eldest son, Craig Raymond Turner, whom she had with saxophone player Raymond Hill, took his own life in 2018 at the age of 59. He shot himself in his Los Angeles apartment. In her bio, My Love Story, also released in 2018, the rock singer wrote, “I was frozen. ‘Please don’t let it be true,’ I prayed. I don’t remember what happened next.”
Four years later, their youngest son, Ronnie Turner, died at the age of 62. He was the only biological son Tina and Ike Turner had together. He died of metastatic colon cancer. “Ronnie, you left the world way too soon. In sorrow I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son,” Turner wrote on Instagram at the time.
Tina Turner is survived by two stepsons from her marriage to Ike Turner. Ike Turner Jr. was adopted by the singer and actress in the ’60s. He followed his parents into the music industry: in 2022 he released the song “Yes To Life” with The Love Thang Band and Sweet Randi Love. Michael Turner, also adopted by the recently deceased, skilfully avoids the limelight. Not much is known about him.