Everything We Know About Gloria Pépin's Death

Gloria Pépin, the wife of world-renowned French chef Jacques Pépin, died on December 5th at her home in Madison, Connecticut at the age of 83. An obituary posted on Jacques Pépin's Facebook page said Gloria died peacefully in her own bed, with her husband, daughter Claudine, son-in-law Rollie, granddaughter Shorey, close friends, and her dog Gaston by her side.

No cause of death was given in the Facebook announcement, which received more than 42,000 sympathetic comments within 24 hours after it was posted on December 6th. "Oh, my deepest condolences to the Pépin family," one commenter wrote. "I have so enjoyed watching Chef Pepin's videos during which he often mentions Gloria with such love, even after many years of marriage. A true love story indeed."

Gloria and Jacques made sure to celebrate their 54 years together as often as possible. "In all that time, they made sure to sit at the table every night for dinner, enjoying their meal and a glass of wine, intentionally reaffirming their marriage and their love," Gloria's obituary said.

Before she passed, Gloria requested friends and admirers who would like to send condolence gifts to make a donation instead to a food-insecurity or animal-welfare charity of their choosing. Gloria loved dogs — even more than she loved most people, as her obituary noted — and always had them in her life, even bringing home the occasional stray. The call to donate to a food-insecurity charity aligns with the Jacques Pépin Foundation, which helps those who are homeless and others with high barriers to employment find work in the culinary trade.

No funeral is currently planned for Gloria due to the risk from COVID-19, however — a celebration of her life is in the works. Gloria has asked that family and friends enjoy a "Boules' des Dimanche Club" party on her birthday in June 2021. Gloria and Jacques have participated in the club as a way to enjoy the French lawn bowling game called boules, which is similar to the Italian bocce (via Food & Wine).

Gloria's obituary noted that she loved the outdoors and the sunshine, whether playing boules or spending her winters with Jacques in their second homes in Mexico or Florida: "We know that Gloria has now found a place... full of sun and warmth and love in many hearts."

Jacques Pépin, 84, has produced hundreds of cooking shows for PBS and written dozens of cookbooks. He was the first professional chef on television (via The Seattle Times).