Cissy Houston, the two-time Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and church choir director mother of the late iconic pop singer and actress Whitney Houston, has died. She was 91.
Born Emily Drinkard on Sept. 30, 1933, Cissy Houston died at her home in Newark, New Jersey, at 10:30 a.m. Monday, surrounded by family.
She had been under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease, her family said in a statement shared on social media. They called the singer’s passing a time of “deep sorrow.”
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“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” daughter-in-law Pat Houston said.
“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. Her contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled,” Pat Houston added. “We are blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us and we are thankful for all the many valuable life lessons that she taught us. May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members.”
The family thanked the public for their “generous support” but asked for privacy as they grieve.
New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where Cissy Houston served as choir director for more than 50 years, also announced her death. The congregation is preparing to “celebrate her life.”
“Pastor Joe A. Carter and the members of The New Hope Baptist Church sadly announce the passing of our beloved Dr. Emily Cissy Houston,” the church said in a statement Monday night. “Dr. Houston served The New Hope Baptist Church for over 50 years, and we are so grateful for her life and legacy. Please keep her family and friends in prayer, as we prepare to celebrate her life.”
Houston, who spent decades as an influential figure in American gospel music, won Grammy Awards in the traditional soul gospel category for her albums “Face to Face” in 1997 and “He Leadeth Me” in 1999.
She was also a recognized soul singer who provided backup vocals for stars such as Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley. In addition to her iconic daughter Whitney Houston, who died in 2012, Cissy Houston was part of a family of successful singers that includes her nieces Dee Dee Warwick and Dionne Warwick and renowned soprano Leontyne Price.
As news of her death spread Monday night, many in the gospel and entertainment industry made public statements grieving her death.
“My deepest condolences to all of the family of Mama Cissy Houston. After Whitney passed Mrs. H and I talked at least once a month until she became too ill,” Gospel singer Kurt Carr wrote in a statement on Facebook. “What a blessing and privilege it was to get to know her and to receive all of her wisdom about life, church, the music business, Elvis lol, and her phenomenal baby girl Whitney. Rest well Mama Cissy … Great is your reward.”
Others, like media mogul Tyler Perry, grieved the passing of three generations of women in Houston’s family, pointing to Whitney Houston and Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, who died in 2015, approximately three years after her mother passed.
“Hard to believe that all three generations of these women have all passed on. Today with a humble heart and much sadness I say goodbye to the incredible Cissy Houston. What a voice, what a laugh, what a heart. Rest well in the arms of the Jesus that you told us all about,” Perry wrote on Facebook.
In a statement to People, Bobby Brown, Cissy Houston’s former son-in-law, also paid tribute.
“Sending love and blessings to the Houston family on this great loss,” Brown said. “May she rest in Peace and Power. The Browns.”
