Naya Rivera’s son, Josey Hollis Dorsey, continues to mourn the death of his mother along with other family members who recently commemorated the one-year anniversary of Rivera’s untimely passing.
“It’s almost like we’re feeding off each other and lifting each other up,” Naya’s mom, Yolanda Previtire, said during a recent interview with Good Morning America (GMA). “Josey has lifted me up so many times,” Previtire added. “He’s comforting that way, and we do the same for him.”
Naya Rivera died on July 8, 2020, after time at the lake with her son turned into a tragedy. The GLEE star rented a boat to explore the small body of water. Naya got in the water with her son but did not make it back on the boat. The celebrity mom did, however, manage to build up enough strength to make certain her son was safe on the boat.
Local authorities initially launched a search and rescue effort for Naya Rivera in the hope of finding the actress alive. The mission turned into a recovery effort after days of searching with no results. Naya Rivera’s body was found on July 14, 2020.
“I literally was just pushed backwards,” Yolanda Previtire said of her reaction to learning that her daughter was missing. “I just ran backwards, if you can imagine, just screaming and I ended up in the bathroom. I slammed the door, I was on the floor and I had to gather myself.”
Josey was at his grandmother’s house when law enforcement called to inform the family that the GLEE star’s body had been located. The coroner’s office declared drowning as the cause of the actress’ death.
“Josey was at the house literally probably for no more than 30 minutes, and he was sitting there eating his pancakes, ’cause that was his favorite thing to do at Grandma’s house,” Yolanda told GMA. “And the phone rang,” she added.
Josey is Naya Rivera’s son with her ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey. He celebrated his sixth birthday in September.
Photo: Naya Rivera/Instagram
