Vernon Winfrey, Oprah’s father, dies at 89

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Oprah Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, has died at the age of 89. The event was called “Vernon Winfrey Appreciation Day,” which included a barber chair to honor his long career as a barber and owning his own shop in Nashville for nearly 50 years. Vernon served as a member of Nashville’s Metro City Council for 16 years and was a trustee for the Tennessee State University. “If I hadn’t been sent to my father, I would have gone in another direction,” Oprah told the Washington Post in 1986.