Dionne Warwick opens up about the loss of her aunt Cissy Houston in emotional social media post

Just a day after the passing of music legend Cissy Houston, her niece Dionne Warwick opened up in tribute on social media.

Houston – the mother of pop icon Whitney Houston who had a Grammy-winning music career herself – passed away at 91 on Monday while receiving hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease.

Warwick, 83, took to her verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday to offer a heartfelt tribute to her aunt. 

‘I’m so deeply saddened, however, knowing that my Aunt Cissy died peacefully and that she is in a much better place, is a consolation and comfort to me,’ she began. 

‘I have seen your messages of condolences. On behalf of my family, thank you,’ Warwick concluded.

 Warwick, 83, took to her verified X (formerly Twitter ) account on Tuesday to offer a heartfelt tribute to her aunt (center)

Warwick, 83, took to her verified X (formerly Twitter ) account on Tuesday to offer a heartfelt tribute to her aunt

Cissy Houston (center) – the mother of pop icon Whitney Houston (left) who had a Grammy-winning music career herself – passed away at 91 on Monday while receiving hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease

The death comes 12 years after Cissy’s daughter Whitney Houston drowned in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub at just 48 years of age.

Cissy’s daughter-in-law Pat Houston told the Associated Press that the songstress died surrounded by her family. 

‘Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,’ she said in a statement announcing the 91-year-old’s death. 

‘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.’ 

Both Warwick and Houston grew up in New Jersey and started their career in the family singing group known as The Drinkard Singers. 

‘I called her Aunt Cissy growing up. Because we were so close in age, I always looked at her as an older sister. It was heaven when we all sang together,’ Warwick said in a 2022 interview with People.

She added that her cousin Whitney Houston, ‘came up exactly the way we all did, in the church choir. It was just preordained, she was going to sing.

Cissy’s daughter-in-law Pat Houston told the Associated Press that the songstress died surrounded by her family

‘Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,’ she said in a statement announcing the 91-year-old’s death

‘Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts’

‘Her destiny was as was the rest of the family. As if God pointed a finger at us and said “Let them vocal cords do what they got to do,”‘ she added.

Cissy founded The Sweet Inspirations and served as a backup singer for Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and more.

After going solo, she won two Grammy Awards for Traditional Gospel Album in 1997 and 1999.