Cissy Houston’s family is “devastated” by her death.
The Grammy-winning matriarch, whose stellar performing career saw her sing alongside icons including Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, passed away on the morning of Oct. 7 in her New Jersey home after a battle with Alzheimer’s led to her being placed under hospice care.
“The family is taking it hard. They’re getting through, but it is very difficult right now,” a source has since told People about how her loved ones have been left reeling by her death.
The insider added Cissy – who adopted the stage name after being born Emily Drinkard – lived a “long, blessed life.”
As well as being the mother of singer Whitney – who accidentally drowned in a hotel bath aged 48 in 2012 after years of drug abuse – Cissy was an aunt of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” her daughter-in-law Pat Houston said in a statement confirming Cissy’s death on Oct. 7 . “Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts.”
She kicked off her singing career in 1938, joining her sister Anne and two brothers Larry and Nicky in a group called the Drinkard Four, reported People.
Cissy’s musical career also saw her join the vocal group the Sweet Inspirations, with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee. They sang backup for a variety of soul-singing legends including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, the Drifters and Dionne Warwick. The group also appeared on Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and sang background vocals for the Jimi Hendrix Experience on the song “Burning of the Midnight Lamp.” Her final performance with the Sweet Inspirations came after the group joined Elvis on stage for his famous Las Vegas show in 1969.
Cissy garnered two Grammys for her albums Face to Face and He Leadeth Me.
