Brendan Grace's widow escapes Florida ahead of monster Hurricane Milton making landfall
Tampa mayor Jane Castor told CNN that if residents choose to 'stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die'.
Brendan Grace’s widow Eileen has said she is sheltering in Boston after a Category 4 storm monster is set to make landfall across the US’s west coast.
Hundreds of thousands of Florida’s residents have been warned that if they stay in their homes they will die unless they evacuate as Hurricane Milton is set to cause death and destruction in its path.
Comedian Brendan, who died from lung cancer in 2019, bought a home in Florida with Eileen and their children in 1994 and Eileen still resides in Jupiter in Florida.
But Eileen said she is currently staying in Boston with her daughter Melanie Grace Gillespie, where she has been living since 2008 with her two sons, James & Patrick.
READ MORE: Brendan Grace dead: Comedian passes away aged 68 after lung cancer battle
Eileen told us: “I’m actually in Boston at the moment.”
Asked if she had moved to Boston from Florida, where she has lived since 1994, Eileen said: “No. I’m just not going down yet. I’m just going to wait and see what happens.”
The potential “once in a lifetime” storm rapidly intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday with sustained winds surpassing 180mph, before slowing to Category 4 on Tuesday.
Tampa mayor Jane Castor told CNN that if residents choose to “stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die”.
Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of the Sunshine State almost two weeks ago, was a “wake-up call,” she said, before adding that Milton could be “literally catastrophic”.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration on Monday after pledging “life-saving resources in advance of the storm,” the day prior.
Eileen and Brendan bought a home in the idyllic spot called Jupiter, where they raised their children Amanda, Melanie, Bradley and Brendan Patrick. It was previously the home of Burt Reynolds, Celine Dion, golfer Greg Norman, singer Vic Damone, and was the home of Perry Como.
Brendan previously told VIP magazine why he decided to uproot the family and go live in Florida back in the 90s. He said at the time several years before his death: “It all came about because of the Frank Sinatra organisation in America, who made me a great offer to go to the States.
“I got to know them during Sinatra’s Irish tour but, really, I didn’t want to go. The family were a lot younger and I didn’t want to uproot anyone. However, Eileen and I had been going to Florida for holidays ever since we were married, and we got to know and love the place.
“We always said that if we ever moved to America, it would be Florida, and that’s the reason we chose to live there when we made up our minds to live on the other side of the world. Thankfully, the kids took to it like fish to water. It was also a golden opportunity because of the green card situation for us and the kids.”
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