(CNN) — Nancy Sinatra Sr., first wife of legendary singer Frank Sinatra, died Friday at the age of 101, her daughter said Saturday.
“My mother passed away peacefully tonight,” her daughter, the singer also named Nancy Sinatra, tweeted.
“She was a blessing and the light of my life. Godspeed, Momma. Thank you for everything.”
Her death comes two decades after her husband’s, who died of a heart attack in 1998 at the age of 82. “Ol’ blue eyes” was one of the most influential singers in the nation, and also appeared in blockbuster films such as “From Here to Eternity” and “The Man With the Golden Arm.”
Nancy Barbato and Frank Sinatra started dating when they were teens. They married in 1939 at a church in New Jersey, and as a wedding present,he gave her a record of a song called “Our Love” that he made for her.
After their wedding, they lived in an apartment in Jersey City. Nancy Sinatra worked as a secretary while her husband tried to get his music career started as a singing waiter at a local restaurant.
The couple had three children together and Frank Sinatra shot to fame and fortune with record deals, motion pictures and extramarital affairs that made headlines in gossip magazines before their marriage ended in 1951.
