![\"Singers](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-1387300765_db3d66-e1728332130315.jpeg?resize=384%2C216\")
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Whitney Houston<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s mother<\/a> and fellow singer, Cissy Houston<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(real name: Emily Drinkard), has died<\/a>. She was 91. Cissy passed away under hospice care for Alzheimer\u2019s Disease in New Jersey, her daughter-in-law, Pat Houston, revealed on Monday, October 7.<\/p>\n \u201cOur hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,\u201d Pat said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press<\/a>. \u201cMother 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Pat added that her mother-in-law\u2019s achievements in music are \u201cunparalleled,\u201d according to the AP.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are touched by your generous support, and your outpouring of love during our profound time of grief,\u201d Pat said in her statement. \u201cWe respectfully request our privacy during this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n The news of Cissy\u2019s death comes more than a decade after Whitney died at the age of 48 in February 2012.<\/p>\n Cissy was a Grammy Award-winning music artist, who began her career in 1938 when she collaborated with sister Anne and brothers Nicky and Larry to form the gospel group The Drinkard Singers. She later joined the group The Sweet Inspirations. Cissy and the Sweet Inspirations performed alongside Elvis Presley<\/strong><\/a> in 1969 in Las Vegas. The group also contributed vocals to Van Morrison\u2019s hit single \u201cBrown Eyed Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n Eventually, Cissy left The Sweet Inspirations to pursue her solo career.<\/p>\n Following her daughter Whitney\u2019s death, Cissy broke her silence on the tragedy during a 2012 interview with the New Jersey station WWOR, per HuffPost<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I did the best I could \u2026 I don\u2019t blame myself,\u201d Cissy said. \u201cI know I did the best I could for everything. My children are my whole life. She was very special to me, very special. She was my only daughter, and a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-805768004.jpeg?quality=100&w=683&resize=683%2C1024\")