76°
Houston had been in hospice care for Alzheimer's disease, the family said in a statement posted to social media.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston, her daughter-in-law, said in a statement.
“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."
Houston, who was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2019-2020, was born in Newark, the youngest of eight children. Houston began singing at the age of five, performing regularly at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, according to her biography at the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
She married John Russell Houston in 1957 and they had two children, Michael and Whitey. During the 1960s, Houston formed the Sweet Inspirations. The band served as a backup singer for artists like Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, Jimi Hendrix and touring with Elvis Presley.
She won two Grammys for Best Traditional Gospel Album.
Her niece, Dionne Warwick, found success in her home right.
Even though she and her family achieved worldwide fame, Houston never forgot her roots, serving as the leader of the Youth Inspirational Choir at New Hope Baptist Church.
Despite her success, Houston's life was marked by tragedy. Both her parents died by the time she was 18, and Whitney died of a drug overdose in 2012. She wrote "Remembering Whitney" in 2013 where she detailed her attempts at trying to get her daughter to achieve sobriety.
Her granddaughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney's daughter, died of pneumonia six months after being found submerged in a bathtub and falling into a coma.
She is survived by her children, Gary and Michael, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Willingboro and receive free news updates.
