Christine Begin Nickell, the mother of Oliver Tree, shared a heartfelt tribute to her son after he tragically passed away alongside five others in a helicopter crash near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Sunday.
On Thursday, Nickell reminisced about her son by sharing a childhood photo of the late artist, expressing deep gratitude for his life and the joy he brought into the world.
“Our dear son Oliver, you made this world a better place,” Nickell wrote in a touching Facebook post. “We are so proud of you. RIP.”
The crash claimed the lives of several others, including YouTube sensation Gaspar ‘Gaspi’ Prim, 23; director and screenwriter Lucas Vignale, 29; music producer Lucas Brito Chaves, 21; as well as pilots Charles Marsillac and Alexandre Souza, alongside the 32-year-old singer.
Tree’s girlfriend, Fiona Chernavskaya, also expressed her sorrow on social media. She used Instagram Stories to convey her appreciation for the outpouring of support and kind words from fans following the devastating loss of the “Life Goes On” singer.
‘I appreciate every ounce of support at this time,’ Chernavskaya said. ‘There are so many who have been affected by his passing, please show them love too.’
Oliver Tree’s mother Christine Begin Nickell paid memorial to her late son Thursday following his death with five other people in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Sunday
Nickell posted a childhood shot of the late musical artist when he was younger, expressing her gratitude for her son
Chernavskaya also requested the public refrain from speculating about her relationship with the entertainer.
‘Please have some respect for my privacy, we kept our relationship very intimate,’ Chernavskaya said. ‘What I really don’t need is to see gossip about other women that Oliver may have been seeing, we were monogamous.
‘Right now I’m mourning my partner and best friend, anything else is unimportant. Please have some respect.’
She said in reference to the late singer on the platform Tuesday: ‘To my best friend, we traveled to 43 countries, and all 7 continents together.
‘The magic, inspiration and joy you brought to my life and others, will never be forgotten or replaced.
She added, ‘You’d always tell me when we argued, if things don’t work out in this lifetime, you will find me in the next. I love you buggy.’
Tree’s final concert took place on June 6 in São Paulo, Brazil, and he had been slated to perform in Lisbon, Portugal on July 1.
The enigmatic late performer donned a Shrek costume for an April 24 interview on the Zach Sang Show in support of his album Love You Madly Hate You Badly.
Tree’s final concert took place on June 6 in São Paulo, Brazil, and he had been slated to perform in Lisbon, Portugal on July 1. Pictured 2022 in San Francisco
The enigmatic late performer donned a Shrek costume for an April 24 interview on the Zach Sang Show in support of his album Love You Madly Hate You Badly
He said in the interview of his material, ‘I don’t believe that any of the wealth or the things that get made from it is mine.
‘And so when I die, set it up, my will is set up that when I pass, my family, no one’s gonna get a penny; if I have a wife or kids or anything, [they’re] not getting a f***ing penny.’
Tree, who was not married and did not have any children, continued, ‘I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but they’re not going to be a silver spoon. They’re taken care of “because my dad worked on some stuff in the 2000s.”‘
Tree said that he wanted to put his money back into the arts following his passing.
‘The idea is when I die, all the money’s gonna go back to artists,’ Tree said. ‘So I’ve set up a foundation. It’s called Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants for Baby Geniuses.
‘And it’s set up so that basically the interest generated from my music will take mostly that, but there’s also room for other money because when I die, my art will continue to have residuals – and probably be worth more than it is now.’
Tree spoke about how ‘historically speaking,’ interest ‘in an artist’s work go up after they die.’
He added, ‘People will finally appreciate my stupid f***ing videos, my f***ing stupid songs – that’s when people appreciate you when you’re not there anymore. Anyways, they might not, doesn’t even make a difference … the art will continue to make money no matter what.’