The former Criminal Minds star posted a series of tearful videos announcing the sad news
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Photo: Jerritt Clark/Getty
Shemar Moore is mourning the loss of his mother.
The former Criminal Minds star announced the death of his mom, Marylin Joan Wilson-Moore, in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday, revealing that she passed away earlier this month. She was 76.
“Marylin Joan Wilson-Moore, my mother, best friend, and partner in crime passed away Feb 8th at 76 years old…I miss her more than I ever thought possible and I don’t know how to do this life without her…but I get my STRENGTH from her and I will be OK because of HER,” he wrote. “Mama…here come that man!!!!! What I do from this day forward is for YOU!!!! I’m going to continue to LEAP and pray that the NET appears!! It was too soon…and it hurts so bad…but I know you are with me and will continue to give me strength…I love you mama.”
Along with the message, Moore posted a series of tear-filled videos, sharing photos and memories of his mother.
“I stay stunned. I am heartbroken… I don’t know life without this woman. I don’t know what to do but I will figure it out because that’s what she would want,” he said. “Everything I’ve accomplished is because of this amazing woman. My mother is gone, she ain’t here no more. But she’s here.”
While Moore said her cause of death is still unknown, the actor revealed that she suffered from heart problems. She was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999.
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“I’ve been [quiet] because I’ve been crying a lot,” he said. “I’ve been yelling and screaming. We had plans.”
In a second Instagram post, Moore shared a slideshow of photos and videos of his mother, set to the Celine Dion track “Because You Loved Me.”
“My Mama always said ‘I was at the front of the line when God was handing out sons’…and I always said ‘Mama, you know I cut the line to get to you!’ I love you mama,” he wrote.
Moore opened up about his mother’s battle with multiple sclerosis in 2015, admitting he had a hard time accepting her diagnosis.
“I went through the whole denial thing for a couple of years,” he told PEOPLE. “I was like, ‘Take a couple aspirin and go to sleep…You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. Go get a massage and slow down.'”
But after some time passed, Moore said he began to realize just how much the debilitating disease was affecting her — and what he could do to help her.
“I just had to check myself and say, ‘Listen, she’s scared and asking for help, so let’s help her turn in the right direction,'” he said, adding that he had his mom move to Los Angeles to be closer to him. “I’ve just been learning about the meds and learning about how it affects different people. Five years ago, we thought she was going to be wheelchair bound. Then, by just doing some homework and really seeing what MS was all about, we learned that MS is affecting her, but not entirely. We were able to be specific about the MS and other factors in her life.”
