Celebrity Roma Downey Remembers Her 'Touched by an Angel' Costar Della Reese: She 'Was Like a Mother to Me' Roma Downey opens up about her special bond with the late Della Reese By Mia McNiece Mia McNiece Mia McNiece joined PEOPLE in 2010 and is currently the Senior Movies Editor. People Editorial Guidelines and Melody Chiu Melody Chiu Melody Chiu is an Executive Editor at PEOPLE overseeing music, events and emerging content. She has been with the brand since 2009, editing, writing and reporting across all entertainment verticals. She has written cover stories on Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Melissa McCarthy, Blake Shelton, Jordan Turpin and Sandra Oh. The Los Angeles native graduated from the University of Southern California and has appeared on Extra!, The Talk, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 25, 2017 08:55AM EST Della Reese was an actress, singer and ordained minister, but she was also a beloved mother figure to costar and friend Roma Downey. Reese, who starred with Downey on the television series Touched by an Angel as the heaven-sent Tess, died Nov. 19 at age 86 surrounded by her loved ones in California. Downey, 57, forged a “deep, lasting” bond with Reese after she lost her mother one week before she turned 11 years old, she recalls exclusively to PEOPLE. “During the run of Touched by an Angel, Della’s only daughter [Deloreese] passed away,” says the star, who is honoring her late friend on her website. “Not long after, she took me into her arms and said, ‘God is so amazing, baby. I always knew that he brought me into your life because you needed a momma. I just hadn’t realized he brought you into my life because I was going to need a baby girl.'” A second mother to Downey ever since, Reese became a fixture in Downey’s life and was by her side through all of life’s biggest milestones. When Downey’s daughter Reilly, now 21, was born in 1996, Reese was at her baptism and named godmother. She also officiated Downey’s marriage to producer Mark Burnett in 2007. “We all love her and we will all miss her, and of course we mourn for her,” says Downey. “But we are also so grateful for the time we shared with her. She achieved so much and she touched the hearts of everyone who knew her.” RELATED VIDEO: Della Reese, Music Legend and Touched By an Angel Star, Dead at 86 Downey and Reese worked together on Touched until 2003, and the latter was always a warm presence on set. “When Della would arrive on set, at the top of her voice she would say ‘God bless everybody up in here!’ ” recalls Downey. “Then everybody she would meet, she would hug … whether it was the director of photography or the props master or the craft service woman or the cleaners or fellow cast mates.” Leaving behind three sons James, Franklin and Dominique, as well as husband Franklin Lett, Reese “spent that final afternoon in her own home peacefully surrounded by people who love her listening to gospel music,” says Downey, who read scripture to her friend on the day she died. “Everybody loved her. She truly was a blessing in our lives.”