Miley Cyrus Mourns Grandmother Loretta Finley’s Death: ‘You Will Forever Be My Inspiration’

Rest in peace. Miley Cyrus shared a touching tribute to her maternal grandmother, Loretta Jean Palmer Finley, after her death.

“Even though you are gone … NOTHING has or ever will change. You will FOREVER be my inspiration and fashion icon. Even more than that the ultimate model of being a true LIGHT in a dark world,” Miley, 27, shared via Instagram on Saturday, August 22. “You are sunshine. Every day I wake and see that fiery ball in the sky I will see your face. Then say a prayer thanking heaven above for giving me the best grandmother a girl could ever be gifted. I will miss you for the rest of my life … I will keep your spirit here by continuing to do good for others and treating them the way we all desire to be treated. With an infinite amount of the same gentle kindness you displayed daily. We will ache every day you are not with us …”

On her Instagram Story, the “Mother’s Daughter” singer explained the reason why she has been laying low on social media recently is because she has been mourning the loss of her beloved “Mammie.”

Along with her heartfelt words, Miley shared several clips of her “Mammie” supporting her through her career. In a clip from the red carpet premiere of her 2010 film, The Last Song, an interviewer told Miley they had the pleasure of meeting her grandmother earlier that night.

“She is the fiercest person I know, that is all I know, she is my inspiration and fashion icon,” Miley gushed at the time. She also shared photos of her and her “Mammie” from when Miley was a little girl and a photo of her grandmother sitting on the set of The Voice. In a separate post, Miley shared behind-the-scenes footage of “Mammie” at an event for her now-defunct Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana.

Miley’s heartbreaking loss comes just one week after the “Slide Away” singer confirmed her split from boyfriend Cody Simpson after 10 months of dating. “For right now, two halves can’t make a whole, and we’re individually just working on ourselves, becoming the people that we want to be. Like everybody else at this age, we’re just deciding who we want to be with our lives, what we want to do with our lives,” Miley said during an Instagram Live August 13, explaining the reason for their breakup. “And so, don’t make it some drama story if next week we hang out and we’re getting pizza. We’ve been friends for 10 years, and we’re going to continue to be friends. Just don’t make it something that it is not.”