Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, a singer who spent the ’70s singing with the iconic rock band Grateful Dead, has passed away. She was 78 years old.

In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Godchaux-MacKay’s rep, Dennis McNally, revealed the singer passed away at a hospice facility in Nashville, Tennessee, following a “lengthy struggle with cancer.”

“She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit,” McNally stated. “And all those who knew her are united in loss. The family requests privacy at this time of grieving. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, ‘May the four winds blow her safely home.'”

Born in August of 1947, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay joined the Grateful Dead in 1971 alongside her husband, Keith Godchaux, who played keyboards. Her vocals are notably featured in the band’s albu

See Full Page