Madonna’s older brother Anthony poses for a photo in Traverse City, Michigan.Splash News
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
PEOPLE previously confirmed Ciccone’s death back in February, after Madonna’s brother-in-law, Joe Henry — who is married to the singer’s sister, Melanie Ciccone —announced the newson Instagram.
Ciccone was 66 at the time of his death, and TMZ reports that he had removed his breathing and feeding tube two days before his death, despite “dire consequences.”
“My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, exited this earthly plane last evening,” Henry wrote in his caption. “I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan so many years now gone. As brother Dave Henry (who took this photograph) notes here, Anthony was a complex character; and god knows: we tangled in moments, as true brothers can.”
Madonna, Anthony Ciccone.getty; splash news
“But I loved him, and understood him better than I was sometimes willing to let on,” he continued. “But trouble fades; and family remains — with hands reached across the table. Farewell, then, brother Anthony. I want to think the god your blessed mother (and mine) believed in has her there, waiting to receive you. At least for today, no one shall dissuade me from this vision.”
A source told PEOPLE at the time that the pop superstar and her family had a complicated relationship with Ciccone because of his struggles. “They were all there for him and despite being estranged, Madonna supported him in every way she could when he was willing to take the support,” says the source. “Family members including Madonna visited him while in his rehab facility as he declined these past few months.”
madonna/instagram
Since his death, Madonna has credited her brother with introducing her to Charlie Parker,Miles Davis, Buddhism, Taoism, Charles Bukowski,Richard Brautigan, Jack Kerouac and “expansive thinking.”
“Thank you for blowing my mind as a young girl,” wrote Madonna, adding: “You planted many important seeds.”
In 2011, Ciccone said he was “homeless on the street” and living under a bridge in their native Michigan. Brother Christopher Ciccone toldThe Mirrorin 2017 that he was “back home” and “recovering” after spending time in a treatment center.
Cicconedied in Suttons Bay, Mich.on Feb. 24, according to hisobituary. He is described as an “insatiable reader” and “a deep lover of music with a wanderer’s spirit” in the obit, which also details his troubles and notes him as being “troubled and distant from his own, valued family.”
source: people.com
