The Pitt family is mourning the loss of their matriarch. Brad Pitt mom, Jane Etta Pitt, has died at age 84, PEOPLE confirms.
Jane, a retired school counselor, and her husband William raised the Oscar winner, 61, and his younger siblings, brother Doug and sister Julie, in Springfield, Missouri.
Steve Eichner/Penske Media via Getty
The actor’s niece Sydney (daughter of Doug) paid tribute to Jane on Instagram Wednesday, sharing several photos of her “Grammy” throughout the years.
“My sweet Grammy,” she wrote, “we were not ready for you to go yet but knowing you are finally free to sing, dance, and paint again makes it a tad easier.”
Sydney wrote that Jane had “the biggest heart” and “cared deeply for everyone and everything, no questions asked.”
“She taught me how to paint, how to be strong, how to lead with kindness, to love Jesus through everything, and to find joy in the smallest things,” she continued. “She made up the silliest games just to make us laugh, and she believed in fairness, in putting others first, and doing good simply because it was the right thing to do.”
Reminiscing on her childhood with her grandmother, Sydney quipped that Jane could “keep up with all 14 of us grandkids without missing a beat.”
She added, “There was no limit to the love she gave, and everyone who met her felt it. I don’t know how we move forward without her. But I know she’s still here in every brushstroke, every kind gesture, every hummingbird. She was love in its purest form.”
While Pitt’s parents largely stayed out of the spotlight, Jane made some appearances alongside her son at events through the years.
Although she didn’t made an appearance during Pitt’s recent promo tour for his summer blockbuster F1: The Movie — which cleaned up at the box office when it debuted June 27 — the actor gave a sweet shoutout to his mom while visiting the Today show, which he revealed she was a big fan of.
Frazer Harrison/Getty
“I gotta say hi to my mom because she watches you every morning,” he told host Savannah Guthrie. “To Jane Pitt. Love you, Mom,” the actor added, waving and blowing a kiss in the video clip shared by Today in June.
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to the actor’s rep for comment
