The Heartbreaking Death Of Lucille Ball's Great-Granddaughter

Desiree Anzalone, the great-granddaughter of comedienne extraordinaire Lucille Ball, passed away September 27, 2020 (via Legacy). Anzalone, who posted on Instagram in 2019 that she was fighting stage 4 breast cancer, was only 31 years of age when she died at the Smilow Cancer Hospital, which is located in New Haven, Connecticut. Her last Instagram post, dated five weeks ago, noted that her spirits had been recently uplifted by a particular quote. "When I read this quote the other day it felt like someone was whispering it to me in my ear," she wrote. "Someone that just understood and knew what the pain of my disease has felt like the last month.... or someone looking out for me. either way, i felt a moment of comfort." 

The quote that struck her so deeply, from Antonin Artaud, starts (via Goodreads): "You are outside life, you are above life, you have miseries which the ordinary man does not know, you exceed the normal level, and it is for this that men refuse to forgive you, you poison their peace of mind, you undermine their stability." 

Anzalone was the daughter of Mario Anzalone and Julia Arnaz. Arnaz, as you might have guessed, is the daughter of Desi Arnaz Jr., and he is the child of Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz Sr. Anzalone's obituary noted that she loved animals and people, and was a talented artist and songwriter. She enjoyed classic music from the '60s and '70s, and enjoyed playing guitar with her father as well as playing the piano. 

Lucille Ball, of course, was well-known for her role in the '50s comedy I love Lucy (via IMDb). Lucille Ball didn't just bestow her artistic talent to her great-granddaughter — her middle name was Desiree, and was undoubtedly where Anzalone got her first name. 

She is survived by both parents, her step-parents, her maternal grandparents, her paternal grandmother, and her fiance and caregiver, Chris Reynolds.