Kris Jenner’s mother, Mary Jo “MJ” Shannon, died Thursday, her bereft daughter announced on social media.
She was 91.
“Today, we said goodbye to my beautiful Mommy MJ,” Jenner, 70, wrote on Instagram Thursday afternoon. “There are no words that could ever capture what she has meant to me or the heartbreak of having to say goodbye.”
Shannon was known to Kardashian fans for her appearances on various incarnations of their reality shows, most markedly “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” on E! and “The Kardashians” on Hulu. As Kris’s mom, she was grandmother to Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Rob Kardashian, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner — and kept the family tight.
“My mom was the heart of our family,” Jenner continued. “She taught me everything that truly matters…to love your family fiercely, to be kind, to show up for the people you love, and to never take a single moment together for granted. She taught us that family is everything. She showed us how to love unconditionally and how to find joy in the little moments.”
MJ was born Mary Gordon Campbell in Arkansas on July 26, 1934, and had Jenner and younger sister Karen Houghton while married to Robert Houghton, an engineer. The couple divorced when Jenner was 7, and a few years later MJ found love with businessman Harry Shannon. They were married for 40 years until his death in a 2003 car crash, according to People.
Karen Houghton died unexpectedly two years ago at age 65. Within a year, Jenner was seeing a difference in her mother’s health.
“I know my mom struggles with so much right now because she is 90 and she’s frail,” Jenner said during episode 6 of “The Kardashians” sixth season. “Ever since my sister passed away, sh’s been super sad, like we all have, and I know that I need to be there for her.”
On Thursday Jenner paid tribute to that resilience and so much else.
“She showed me how to face life’s challenges with resilience and faith,” Jenner wrote in her Instagram post. “Mom, thank you for every sacrifice you made, every piece of wisdom you shared, and every moment you loved us so completely. I will miss our daily talks, your smile, your laughter.”
Jenner sees “pieces of you in all of us” when looking at her own children and grandchildren, she wrote.
“Our hearts are broken, but we find comfort knowing that love like yours never truly leaves us. Your love will live on in our family, in our traditions, in every moment we are together, and in every life you touched,” she said.
“My heart is broken into a million pieces… thank you for giving me the greatest childhood and oh what a beautiful blessed life…I love you forever Mommy. Thank you for giving us everything.”
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