Scotty McCreery’s Grandmothers Both Passed Away On July 9
Scotty McCreery is mourning the loss of his grandmothers, Janet and Paquita, who passed away within hours of each other on July 9.
“My heart is absolutely broken,” Scotty wrote in a post he shared on social media on July 10. “Yesterday, both my Grandma Janet and my Grandma Paquita passed away. I think I am still in a bit of shock as I type this, but I’m choosing to remember the great memories we all made with both of them. There really are too many to count.”
Scotty’s mom, Judy McCreery, shared on Facebook that her mother, Janet, died around 1 PM on July 9 after “battling norovirus & the flu, which led to dehydration and pneumonia.” Janet was 85 years old.
93-year-old Paquita, Scotty’s paternal grandmother, “had been in declining health,” according to Judy. She died around 4 PM, just three hours after Janet.
Scotty’s longtime fans may remember Paquita from her time on Celebrity Family Feud. She competed with Scotty, his now-wife Gabi, Gabi’s dad Tre, and Scotty’s dad Mike (Paquita’s son).
Paquita stole the show with her funny banter and hilarious attempt to flirt with the show’s host, Steve Harvey.
Scotty Shares Old Performance Of “Five More Minutes” In Tribute To Janet And Paquita
Paquita’s husband, Bill McCreery, passed away in 2015. After Bill died, Scotty sat down with Frank Rogers and Monty Criswell to write a song, which eventually became “Five More Minutes.”
Scotty released the heart-tugging track as a single in 2017, and it became his first #1 hit. When he released the music video, he dedicated it to both his grandpa Bill and his maternal grandpa Robert Perry “R.P.” Cooke, who died in 2007.
“Five More Minutes” remains one of the most emotional songs in Scotty’s catalog. On July 10, just one day after his grandmothers’ deaths, Scotty performed the track during a show in Fort Loramie, Ohio. He broke down near the song’s end as he got choked up over the lyrics.
Then on Monday (July 14), Scotty shared a past performance of “Five More Minutes” in dedication to his grandma Janet and grandma Paquita. Writing in the caption, he said he was sharing it “In memory of my grandmothers.”
The performance Scotty shared came from this year’s CMA Fest, which occurred in early June. It features him singing “Five More Minutes” solo on a small stage in the middle of the crowd, with nothing more than the sound of his guitar to back him up.
The scaled-back arrangement made the performance even more personal, raw, and heartfelt than Scotty’s other renditions of “Five More Minutes.” With that in mind, it makes sense why he wanted to reshare this clip in memory of his grandmothers.
Watch Scotty’s full CMA Fest performance of “Five More Minutes” below. Our prayers remain with him and his family during this difficult time.
