Johannah Deakin, who had worked as a midwife, was 43. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia this spring.
“Johannah was first and foremost a truly amazing mother to seven children – Louis, Lottie, Félicité, and two sets of twins, Phoebe and Daisy and Ernest and Doris — whose individual talents and success are testament to the principles and beliefs she instilled in them,” Deakin’s husband Dan said in a statement.
She also became a grandmother in January when Tomlinson and former girlfriend Briana Jungwirth welcomed a son, Freddie Reign.
Dan Deakin recalled, "It wasn’t uncommon for Johannah to hear through the media of an individual in need of assistance, and she would immediately make it her objective to get that person what they often desperately needed, and rarely without success."
"These are the things that made Johannah happy and content in life, and all of which for me made her simply the perfect wife and best friend to face each day with," he continued. "I thoroughly loved walking through life with her, and though five years was far too short a time, during that time we had so many lifetimes worth of happiness, adventures, and memories."
His management told the Associated Press that Tomlinson plans to perform on The X Factor Saturday as planned. One Direction came together on the reality singing competition, where they finished third in 2010.
