Reba McEntire Had A Truly Memorable Night With Her Mother Before She Passed

In March 2020, Reba McEntire was devastated when she lost her mother, Jackie McEntire, to bladder cancer. But looking back, at least she got to spend an unforgettable night with Jackie two months before her passing. On "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in October 2024, Reba recalled returning to her childhood stomping grounds to care for her. Her sister Alice Foran advised her that if Jackie was in pain, she should be given an entire gummy to help her sleep. (Although it's not clear what was in the gummy, it seemed to be THC based on Reba's experience with it.)

"Well, I wasn't really comfortable with that," Reba recounted. When the time came, she gave her mom half. But then Reba — a novice with edibles — got curious. "And I thought, 'Well, shoot. Mama's taking it. I need to see what she's experiencing,'" she said. Reba followed suit and went to sleep beside her mom. 

It wasn't until later, when Jackie went to use the bathroom and Reba tried to help, that she realized its impact. "I threw back the covers — and that's about as far as I got. And I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I gotta help her. I'm gonna look like a wimp if I don't,'" she said. Reba managed to get to her mom, but failed her next mission: getting ice water. To avoid a trip to the kitchen, she told her mom they ran out of ice. Reba continued, "And I laid down, and I swear there [were] weeds and flowers growing out of my head."

Reba McEntire may have accidentally gotten blazed while taking care of her mom that one time, but that shouldn't take away from how much Reba cared about her parents. In fact, her mother's death took so much of a toll on the "I'm A Survivor" singer that she considered stepping back from music. During an October 2023 appearance on "Today with Hoda and Jenna," Reba explained how her mother, Jackie McEntire, incited her and her siblings to form "The Singing McEntires" music group as teens. "She taught us harmony, she encouraged us," Reba said, adding that while her mother was a good teacher, she wasn't afraid to call her kids out if they were singing the wrong part.

Because Jackie helped Reba realize her talent and build upon it, Reba felt very lost after she passed and deliberated putting the mic down. While looking at old photographs with one of her sisters, Susie McEntire-Eaton, Reba remembered saying to her, "I just don't think I wanna do this anymore," in regards to singing. "She said 'Why?' I said, '[Because] I always did it for Mama,'" Reba said in the interview. Fortunately, she was able to move past these feelings and rediscover her voice. In December 2023, Reba gave an emotional performance of her song "Seven Minutes in Heaven" on "The Voice," which paid tribute to Jackie.