According to many of their close friends, the number one priority in Lonnie’s life, after her marriage to Ali, was taking care of him. In an interview at the Muhammad Ali Center she reflected on Ali's life, his death, his Islamic faith she shares, her work to preserve his legacy of peace and justice and his status as a global icon. Muhammad Ali's widow Lonnie Ali talks about the week of his funeral and how proud she was of the local, national and international response to his passing. Message from Lonnie Ali to Louisville protesters "Today marks the fourth anniversary of Muhammad’s passing. Her family had relocated to the Montclair Villa subdivision in Louisville in 1963. She was 29, and he was 44 years old at the time. "It was his ability to touch the humanity in each and every person he met — and then some, through extension. "Every dot represented a person," Lonnie Ali said. That longtime family feud was set aside for Ali's final moments as he passed away on June 3, 2016, from septic shock after decades of suffering from Parkinson's. To finish the sketch, the world-famous boxer and humanitarian, using a black Sharpie, would fill in the crowd around himself and Frazier, his archrival, using a dot for the faces. People came to pay their respects from all corners of the globe. Every time, he came to see Odessa, he would make time to play with the children from the neighbourhood. Her mother’s name was Marguerite Williams. The marriage did not produce any children. Ali's service was held in an arena at his insistence because he wanted as many people as possible to be able to attend the service where the world's major religions were represented, Lonnie Ali said. "That's what I love about this city, how they opened their arms to these people, how they were going to share this moment of history with everyone else," she said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYTLEwlN64U. "He was emphatic that he wanted it to be in an arena or a stadium," she said. "He did it till he couldn't get another dot on that page. She was since marriage to his death. He was about 15 years older than her. The couple divorced in 1977. She was there when he was at his lowest and brought him back up. Muhammad Ali and Wife Lonnie: She Loved Him Since She Was 6 and Was 'The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Him' this link is to an external site … She has a sister named Marilyn. Furthermore, she was the company’s vice president and treasurer until new management took over in 2006. As per our current Database, Lonnie Ali is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020). Their home on Verona Way was on the opposite side of the street from the house Ali purchased for his parents, Odessa and Cassius Marcellus Clay, after becoming a boxing gold medallist at the 1960 Summer Olympics and switching to professional boxing. ", ►MORE: Ali remembered at service in Louisville. When he was five months old, the couple adopted him. It did not take long for Muhammad Ali’s mother, Odessa, and Lonnie’s mother, Marguerite, to become friends. "Muhammad was probably, in modern times, the best known Muslin in the world," she said. In an interview at the Muhammad Ali Center she reflected on Ali's life, his death, his Islamic faith she shares, her work to … Hundreds who couldn't fit inside filled the plaza outside despite sweltering heat to watch the service on jumbo screens. By then, they already had a daughter named Hana Ali (1976). Muhammad Ali's iconic presence and indomitable spirit inspired millions (including countless members of the Parkinson’s community) throughout his extraordinary career as an athlete and humanitarian. Asaad Amin Is Their Adopted Son. Lonnie and Ali’s adoptive son, Asaad Amin, was likely born in either 1985 or 1986. This included managing his estate as well. January 4, 2017 January 4, 2017 Jim. In many ways, minus the Ali family's fame and financial wherewithal, the story line is similar to what millions of caregivers endure every day in America: the guilt and loneliness, joy and exasperation, frustration and anxiety, and the challenge of learning how to accept what Lonnie calls a "new normal." Lonnie Ali speaks to John Ramsey four years after her husband's death By Sarah Jackson | June 3, 2020 at 1:25 PM EDT - Updated June 3 at 1:25 PM LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - On the fourth anniversary of her husband’s death, Lonnie Ali released an essay titled “We still need Muhammad’s voice.” How amazing that the very moment they first met was captured in black and white. Lonnie Ali said she's also busy with another venture that grew out of plans to celebrate Ali's 75th birthday, on Jan. 17. "It was always a boxing ring with him and Joe Frazier," Lonnie Ali, his wife of 30 years recalled in an interview Monday with the Courier-Journal. That's the way he always acted. Even today, she continues to work to ensure the longevity of Ali’s legacy. "I knew from the turnout that Muhammad had a hand in this. She also convinced Ali to accept the role as the face of Parkinson’s disease. Ali was 15 years older than his wife and she met him when she was just a child of six years old. He was probably pulling the strings in heaven. Spouse (1) Muhammad Ali (19 November 1986 - 3 June 2016) ( his death) ( 1 child) Trivia (1) Daughter-in-law of Odessa Clay, and sister-in-law of Rahman Ali. Ali died on June 3, 2016, in Scottsdale. In 2005, along with her husband, she set up the multicultural Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville. Muslims from around the world came for the events, and Lonnie Ali said she believes it was because they were touched by his message about the true meaning of Islam in an era in which extremists have distorted its meaning. A six-year-old pigtailed Lonnie met Muhammad Ali for the first time in 1964 in Louisville, Kentucky, which was the hometown of both of them. Commemorating what would have been Ali’s 75. birthday in the following January, the campaign asked people to devote 75 hours of their time to community service. In Lonnie’s adolescent years, Ali served as another big brother for her.