Richard Branson and his mother Eve Branson
Clive Rose | Getty Images
LONDON – Virgin founder Richard Branson has revealed that his mother, Eve, died of coronavirus in a tribute blog post on Monday.
Branson said Eva, who was 96 when she died, “held one last victory, managed to fight the virus, but spent all her energy on it.”
However, Branson said that instead of mourning his loss, he wanted to “celebrate her wonderful life, her extraordinary spirit, the joy she brought so much, and the love she gave us. all”.
In his dedication to his mother, Branson said he owed her career. He explained that Eve found a necklace in the 1960s, and after police let her keep the jewelry because no one claimed it, she sold it and gave her the funds.
“Without that 100 pounds ($ 135), I could never have started Virgin,” said Branson, who now founded the billion-dollar conglomerate in 1970.
Branson said that Eve and her father Edward, who died in 2011, taught him and his two sisters “the importance of hard work, not taking yourself too seriously, treating people the way you want to be treated.” , entrepreneurship and much more. ”
Founder Virgin described his mother as a “force of nature” who lived “many remarkable lives,” sharing how he took lessons in gliding in disguise as a boy. She also enlisted in the Royal Naval Women’s Service, known as “Wrens,” during World War II.
After the war, Eve toured Germany as a ballet dancer, performed on the West End stage in London and worked as an air host on the “treacherous” British routes South American Airways.
Branson said his mother was “inventive, fearless, relentless – an entrepreneur before the word came.”
Her mother was also the founder of the Eve Branson Foundation, a small non-profit organization that aims to improve the lives of young women and girls in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, by providing access to education and health care.