Condolences: Mary Mary: Erica & Tina Campbell’s Father Dies Of Cancer

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Mary Mary: Erica and Tina Campbell’s Father Dies Of Cancer

Very sad news for Erica Atkins-Campbell and Trecina “Tina” Atkins-Campbell of gospel group, ‘Mary Mary’. Last week, they lost their father, Eddie Atkins Jr., to cancer. 

The duo confirmed the news on twitter:

Our Dad was a great man, but he’s with Jesus now he taught us how to pray & trust God. Our hearts are heavy but we can rejoice knowing our father knew we loved him. RIP Elder Eddie A. Atkins Jr. Rest in the arms of Jesus Daddy.

Tina and Erica have expressed heartfelt thanks to fans for reaching out to them with prayers of support.

The Campbell sisters shared in a public message on Sunday:

Erica and Tina Campbell (Mary Mary) would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all who have reached out to them during this difficult time. The ladies have been overwhelmed by the love and support of their peers, colleagues, fans, and friends and want to share the below message with you:

"Our dad was a powerful man. Our family had it's challenges but our love superseded it all. We had the opportunity to profess our love for our father. We were able to tell him how much we loved him, valued him, and how much life had helped us to understand the things that we couldn't for many years. Our dad was a man of immense physical and spiritual strength. He always covered us in prayer. He warned us when hardships were coming, taught us how to pray through, fight on, and overcome life's challenges. What better gift can a man give his family. Our family prayed and thanked God for our dad's life and healing on Monday night and God chose to give him the ultimate healing on Tuesday afternoon, which was a transfer from life on earth to life in Heaven. God sent him out better than we ever could've imagine and for that, we will be forever grateful. We love our daddy dearly, respect him highly, and will remember him always."

- Tina and Erica Campbell.

The award-winning singers publicly acknowledged their father's death last week after it was revealed that Atkins Jr. had died on Tuesday, June 25, 2013, in Los Angeles.

Atkins Jr., who had married and divorced the sisters' mother, Thomasina "Honey" Atkins, three times, had appeared on their reality television show on Wetv. He has been described as "a community leader (and) youth minister" and credited with laying the foundation for Erica and Tina Campbell's "broad reaching musical platform that allows them to deliver their brand of gospel music not just to the church but to the masses regardless of their walk of life (and) spiritual understanding."

The network this week shared a deleted scene from the "Mary Mary" reality show in which the sisters"share a moment of compassion when having a conversation about their father." The clip, titled "Mary Mary: A Father's Love – Deleted Scene," can be viewed below, or at Wetv.

Mary Mary, reportedly named after the Bible's Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, has won several awards since their 2000 debut album Thankful, and the group won for Best Group and Best Gospel Artist at the 2013 BET Awards, which aired last night on the BET network. 

We send our Condolences!