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Carol Bongiovi died at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch on Tuesday, July 9, her obituary said. A cause of death was not given for the 83-year-old who was three days away from her 84th birthday.
Bongiovi was remembered as an entrepreneur who operated several businesses and the founder of her son's fan club.
"Our mother was a force to be reckoned with, her spirit and can-do attitude shaped this family," Bon Jovi said in a statement to People. "She will be greatly missed."
In 1959, the former florist and Playboy bunny joined the Marine Corps where she met her future husband of 63 years John Bongiovi Sr. The couple raised their family in Sayreville before eventually moving to Holmdel where she lived until her death.
The Erie, Pennsylvania, native made a cameo with her husband in the 2021 music video for Bon Jovi's song "Story of Love."
"Fathers love daughters like mothers love sons," Bon Jovi sings in the chorus. "They've been writing our story before there was one. From the day you arrive, 'til you walk, 'til you run, there is nothin' but pride, there is nothin' but love."
Bon Jovi shared a clip from the "Story of Love" video on his Instagram page on Wednesday, July 10.
"Momma, We carry you with us, Always ❤️❤️," the post's caption said.
The "Livin' on a Prayer" singer recalled how his parents helped him launch his career during a 2020 interview in The Big Issue. Bon Jovi said his parents supported his dreams despite a "terrible" first talent show performance.
They also were forgiving when he stayed out until 1 or 2 a.m. playing gigs at bars with his first band Atlantic City Expressway — as long as he made it to school the next day.
"What I got from my parents was the ability to make the dream reality," he wrote in The Big Issue’s Letter To My Younger Self. "They always instilled that confidence in their kids which, in retrospect, I realize was so incredibly valuable. Because even if you truly weren’t any good at your craft, if you believed you were, you could work on it."
Another Garden State rock legend also mourned his mother's death earlier in 2024. Bruce Springsteen's mother Adele died at 98 years old on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
Bongiovi had two other sons named Anthony and Matthew. She was also survived by eight grandchildren, including Bon Jovi's son Jake Bongiovi, who married actress Millie Bobby Brown back in May.
Bongiovi's funeral services will be private and Holmdel Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
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