Donna Jean Godchaux, most known for her stint with the Grateful Dead, has died at the age of 78. The songstress hit her prime in the Seventies, having served as the back-up on several hits across the Sixties and having served as the frontwoman of her own bands. She reportedly succumbed to a “lengthy struggle with cancer" on Sunday, November 2, under hospice care in Nashville. The spotlight has since shifted to her personal life, and her husband, Keith Godchaux. Donna first met the pianist in 1970, and they later joined the Grateful Dead together the following year. Together, they harmonized on several of the former's albums, including Europe '72, Wake of the Flood, and Terrapin Station. They welcomed their first son, Zion, in 1974. However, Keith reportedly struggled with substance abuse, and after eight years, the pair left the band. They eventually founded their own, The Heart of Gold Band, though following its first concert, Keith lost his life at the age of 32 in a car accident. Donna Jean Godchaux's life and legacy explored: Donna Jean Godchaux's family confirmed her demise in a statement, shared by her representative Dennis McNally to Rolling Stone. It read: “She was a sweet and warmly beautiful spirit, and all those who knew her are united in loss. The family requests privacy at this time of grieving. In the words of Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, ‘May the four winds blow her safely home.’” Following her first husband's demise, Donna tied the knot with bassist David MacKay in 1981. They regularly performed and recorded together for The Donna Jean Godchaux Band, and he reportedly stayed with her until her recent demise. Ahead of joining the Dead, Donna Jean Godchaux worked as a session singer in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. At the time, she lent her vocals to several hits, including Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds," as well as songs by Duane Allman, Cher, Neil Diamond, and Boz Scaggs. "I was singing from pretty much as soon as I could talk," she told AL.com in 2016. "I remember very distinctly when I was 6 years old, I knew I was going to be a singer and I would sit out on my back porch and sing to the top of my lungs every day." She told the outlet that working with Preslet on his 1969 single Suspicious Minds, which eventually dominated the charts, was "one of the most amazing times of my life," adding that the King was "so king to us and encouraging and complimentary... and he looked great. I'm telling you, he was the most gorgeous human being I've ever seen." Speaking with Rolling Stone in 2014, she said of her and her late husband Keith's decision to quit the Grateful Dead: "Keith and I, we were wasted. We were exhausted. And the band was exhausted with us. The band knew we had to be out of the band, and Keith and I had been talking about 'How in the world do you quit the Grateful Dead?' It was sad, but it was what needed to happen. It was turning into being not profitable for anybody. We needed to go, and they needed for us to go." Donna Jean Godchaux leaves behind her husband, David, their son, Kinsman, and his wife, Molly. She also leaves another son, Zion, and his son, Delta. She is survived by her siblings, Gogi Clark and Ivan Thatcher. Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.