Naya Rivera Remembered By Mom & Sister One Year After Death

July 8, 2021 marks the one-year anniversary of Naya Rivera’s passing.

The “Glee” actress tragically died after a boating accident on Lake Piru, in Ventura, Ca. on July 8, 2020.

While out for a swim off the back of a rented pontoon boat with her then four-year-old son, Josey, Naya was taken from the world. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning.

Naya’s body was recovered five days later on July 13. She was only 33-years-old at the time of her death.

Now, one year later, the actress’ mother and sister are speaking out about the impact of her death.

During a sit-down interview with “Good Morning America” on Thursday, July 8, Naya’s mother, Yolanda Previtire, recalled the morning of July 8, 2020.

“It was a beautiful morning, I missed two of her Facetime calls and I called her back and I said, ‘Naya, where are you?’ She was like, ‘Oh, me and Josey we’re going to go to the lake and I was gunna have him fish.’”

Yolanda recalls telling her daughter the waters were choppy and to call her when she and Josey got off the water.

Unfortunately, the call never came.

Josey was found by another boater asleep in his life vest alone on the pontoon boat.

Naya’s sister, Nickayla Rivera, and mother called those first five days of search and rescue “awful,” ‘hell’ and ‘hell on earth.”

Yolanda said, “My faith told me, ‘Nothing is missing, surely. Not a person. We just can’t find them.’ So, that was my thing. God you know where she’s at. Just bring her back to us.”

During the emotional interview, Naya’s mother revealed she took photos from her last-ever FaceTime call with her daughter. Fortunatetly, the search and rescue teams were able to use those photos to look at the topography of the land to locate where they were on that tragic day.

Yolanda said, “Sometimes we’re afraid of the sorrow being so heavy that we’re afraid for our own self, ’cause this is hard.” She noted that the family is in therapy to deal with the trauma.

While Naya may no longer be here on earth with her family, her sweet son Josey is “like a boy version of her [Naya] in every sense of the word,” Yolanda revealed.

“His tenacity, his drive, his zeal, his adventure for life, he’s just, he’s Naya in boy form,” her mother said.

Naya’s theatrical chops run deep in Josey.

Nickayla revealed he loves entertaining and singing at the top of his lungs.

Yolanda hopes Naya’s legacy is one of love.

“I would like my daughter’s legacy, Naya’s legacy, to be one that teaches people to love. Love who you are, because you don’t get another life," she said.

‘Naya’ began trending on Twitter Thursday, with fans and co-stars sending in their messages of love and remembrance.