Evelyn Braxton has shared a heartfelt tribute to her late daughter Traci, days after the family announced the singer and reality star’s death at the age of 50.
The Braxton family matriarch, 74, shared a post dedicated to Traci on Instagram Monday, in which she reminisced on the strength Traci put forward as she battled esophageal cancer.
“My dear sweet wonderful, incredible daughter,” she wrote. “We slept in the same bed before she became so terminally ill all night talking while sharing so many secrets.”
Braxton recalled Traci telling her, “Mommy, I’m going to beat this! My healing is right around the bend!” to which she told her daughter, “Absolutely oh yes, you will be heal[ed] baby girl without a doubt.”
The Braxton Family Values star wrote that Traci held on “to her determination” as the weeks and months passed, and said she “never complained” in spite of her illness.
“As I watched her every day her mind grew stronger & more determined,” Braxton wrote. “She just knew she was going to get through this, didn’t matter how it looked. Life was hers and she was going to have it! I watch[ed] the weight drop off. I watched tears streaming down her face as she held onto her faith and her beliefs. She fought a good fight and held on until she could not hold on anymore.”
The reality star concluded her sweet message by thanking God for giving her 50 years with Traci, and for “allowing me to be her Mommy.”
“It will always be a[n] empty place in my heart that will never be fulfilled,” she wrote. “Although she came through me but she comes from God. Yes we will miss her because we love her. Lord, Thank you, you loan[ed] to us such a beautiful treasure in vessel that will never be forgotten.. NO I won’t complain! Look at God Forever in my heart!”
The family, whose WE tv series premiered in 2011 and aired for seven seasons, announced Traci’s death in a statement shared on Saturday that called her “a bright light, a wonderful daughter, an amazing sister, a loving mother, wife, grandmother and a respected performer.”
Traci’s husband, Kevin Surratt, confirmed the news in a statement to PEOPLE that revealed she’d been undergoing cancer treatment.
“We have come to a time where we must inform the public that after a year of privately undergoing a series of treatment for Esophageal cancer our beloved Traci Braxton has gone on to glory,” Surratt said.
Traci—who grew up with siblings Michael Jr, Toni, Towanda, Trina and Tamar—released her debut album Crash & Burn in October 2014.