Duranice Pace of gospel group the Pace Sisters dies at 62
Fans and celebrities have taken to social media to show love to the singer and support to her family
Gospel legend Duranice Pace of the beloved Pace Sisters has passed away.
Evangelist and gospel singer Duranice Pace took her last breathe on Jan. 14 at the age of 62. The singer is known for her stoic voice and for producing a slew of hits with the gospel group. Her family announced that she was taken to the hospital on Jan. 5 but did not provide many other details.
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Fans and celebrities have taken to social media to show love to the singer and support to her family, per Variety.
“Please send some prayers Gospel Legends The Pace Family. They gained another Angel today. Our Legend Duranice Pace brought us so much Joy when she sang. She will be missed. R.I.P,” wrote singer Ledisi to Twitter.
On Jan. 5, Pace’s team took to her Instagram to write, “Please keep the prayers, support and love coming as Duranice still fights and gets stronger in the hospital. She is eternally grateful for all of you and she can’t wait to announce a special concert-event that she has been planning with a team of Broadway professionals.”
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During an interview with Voyage ATL in March 2020, Pace spoke about her early introduction to music at just five years old, thanks to her parents, especially her father. “My father would have rehearsal every Wednesday in our living room with his singing group and my siblings and I would peep in on their rehearsals. We would also go see my father perform with his quartette group at various musical halls in downtown Atlanta, and when I saw him on stage I was so inspired and thought, ‘I want to sing like my father,’” the singer said.
She continued, “I would watch films and Broadway plays like Mary Poppins and FAME, and it always caught my attention to see the crowd react with smiles and tears.”
Back in 2019, She moved talk show host Steve Harvey to tears when she talked about her love for Broadway and overcoming difficult life challenges, particularly thyroid cancer.
Apart from singing, Pace served as the Jurisdictional Evangelist for Bishop Larry Shaw in South Korea, according to Music Crowns.
She traveled worldwide, preaching and singing for God in Las Vegas, California, New York, South Korea, London, Italy, Australia, Japan, and Switzerland.
Pace was the eldest sister of the group, also known as the Anointed Pace Sisters. The group of sisters have been nominated and performed at the Stella Awards Show, and have also made appearances in blockbuster movies such as ‘The Fighting Temptations‘ with Beyoncé’ Knowles and Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Tyler Perry’s ‘Medea’s Family Reunion‘.
Between 1989 and 2009, the group released several albums such as U-Know, which landed at No. 2, on the Billboard charts, and My Purpose which landed at No. 1.
The Atlanta-based singer went viral in 2017 after a clip of her singing to her family on Thanksgiving began to make rounds on social media. Check out the impromptu performance below.
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