Angela Raiola, best known as Big Ang on the reality TV show Mob Wives, passed away on Thursday at the age of 55. She suffered from stage 4 lung and brain cancer, and ultimately succumbed to pneumonia.
For the first time, fans are learning the last words Angela Raiola uttered before she left this world. Her sister, Janine Detore, shared those words in during an interview with Extra on Friday.
Angela Raiola, the reality TV star known as "Big Ang" on "Mob Wives," dies at age 55 https://t.co/5okHpCaHtj pic.twitter.com/s8Pswa4Mqa
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 18, 2016
“She came down with pneumonia last week,” she said of Big Ang. “She went to the hospital last week for it, but she got better and came home on Friday.”
“Ang was okay, and then she got pneumonia again Sunday,” Detore shared, adding she was rushed back to the ER on Monday.
Detore said neither she nor Big Ang realized she was leaving home for the very last time.
“She got in the ambulance and said, ‘I’ll see you later.’ Nothing was going through my mind,” her sister said.
On Wednesday, Angela Raiola took a serious turn for the worse. Janine Detore received a call from the hospital.
“They told me I had to come,” she said.
Janine Detore pays tribute to 'beautiful sister' Big Ang https://t.co/ahovkvtb3q pic.twitter.com/60EFeJJmHJ
— People Magazine (@people) February 18, 2016
Angela Raiola–Big Ang–spoke her last words on that day.
“She just said she wanted to go home. It was very hard,” her sister recalled.
“I never thought I was going to walk into this, and that’s what I walked into,” Detore said. “Her pneumonia was her death, and the cancer was so aggressive.”
“It was so quick,” she added. “It was very peaceful. We were playing her favorite music. We were telling her how much we love her and how mommy and daddy were waiting for her. We told her she could go in peace and I will take care of the kids and grandchildren. Even her doctor cried and cried.”
There were so many amazing people, and beautiful flower pieces at her wake. The family wishes to thank everyone for their love at this time.
— Angela Raiola (@biggangVH1) February 21, 2016
Angela Raiola is as big in death as she was in life. On Saturday, her Mob Wives cast mates, along with a bevy of family members and friends, gathered at the Scarpaci Funeral Home in Brooklyn to pay their respects. A second viewing was scheduled for Sunday.
Angela Raiola will be laid to rest on Monday on Staten Island.