Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston's Mother, Dead At 91

Whitney Houston's mother, Cissy Houston, died on October 7 at the age of 91, The Associated Press reported. She spent her last days in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer's. Her daughter-in-law, Pat Houston, said in a statement, "Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness." She described Cissy as "the matriarch of our family," adding: "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."

Like her late daughter, Cissy was a renowned singer who was a backup vocalist for Elvis Presley, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, and other famous names. She earned herself two Grammys in the late '90s for her albums "Face to Face" and "He Leadeth Me." Cissy leaves behind her two sons, Gary Garland and Michael Houston.

While Cissy Houston's official cause of death is yet to be reported as of this writing, a source told Radar Online in 2018, "She's in the early stages of dementia. She repeats herself a lot and doesn't remember what she says. She just says she's getting old." Referring to allegations against Cissy's niece Dee Dee Warwick for molesting Whitney Houston and her brother Gary Garland, the insider shared, "The family is already fractured enough but she has had enough clarity to know what's going on with these claims and is very upset." Cissy refuted the claims and stated, "We cannot, however, overstate the shock and horror we feel and the difficulty we have believing that my niece Dee Dee Warwick (Dionne's sister) molested two of my three children."

After Cissy learned of the accusations through the documentary "Whitney," Garland's wife Patricia stated, "It was deeply a revelation for her. You think about her, and it being a bit overbearing for her to hear — and her kids not telling her. That's pretty tough to have to deal with" (via Page Six).

Cissy's life was also fraught with tragedy, having tragically lost her daughter Whitney in 2012 from an accidental drowning in a bathtub. Sadly, her granddaughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, died in a similar fashion in 2015. After Cissy's death, a fan tweeted, "3 generations gone, but never forgotten. Rest in peace to the legendary Houston family — Whitney, Bobbi Kristina, and Cissy. May their love, talent, and legacy live on forever as they are reunited in peace. Together again, forever in our hearts."