Widow of Isley Brother’s bassist Marvin Isley says she knew upon meeting him they’d marry

Widow of Marvin Isley calls him ‘great family man’

CHICAGO — When a United Airlines flight attendant met bass player Marvin Isley on a plane 20 years ago, she immediately told her co-workers he was going to become her husband. And she was right.

Sheila Isley said the Isley Brothers’ youngest sibling always acted like she had the high-profile job in the relationship, not him, and treated her as if she were flying the planes.

“That’s the kind of person Marvin was,” she told The Associated Press. “He was a straight-up, standup guy.”

Marvin Isley died Sunday morning of diabetes at an inpatient hospice at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He was 56.

He had battled diabetes for decades, losing his legs to the disease in 1997, and his wife said he’d been in hospice care for a week before his death.

After they met on the flight, Marvin invited Sheila to his concert, and she said she was amazed how different he looked on stage.

The couple had two children together, 12-year-old Jalen and 10-year-old Sydney. Marvin also considered Sheila’s son from a previous relationship, 30-year-old Cory, his child, she said.

“They’re devastated, they lost their dad,” she said. “He was a great husband, he was a great family man.”

Marvin Isley stopped performing in 1996 after his diabetes caused him to have a stroke. He lost the use of his left hand and doctors had to amputate his legs.

He joined his brothers’ band in 1973. By that time, the Isley Brothers had established themselves with hits like 1959’s “Shout,” which sold more than 1 million records. Isley splintered off to form Isley-Jasper-Isley in the 1980s and returned to the Isley Brothers in the 1990s. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and their career has spanned six decades.

Longtime R&B record producer and fellow Hall of Famer Leon Huff said Marvin Isley will be missed.

“The Isley Brothers always had a fantastic band and great stage shows, and Marvin played a big part of that,” Huff said in a statement. “He really brought the funk. It’s a great loss.”

Services are scheduled for Saturday in Chicago. Marvin Isley will be buried in New Jersey next to his mother and brother O’Kelly Isley.