Kelly Rowland and Doris Rowland Garrison (Facebook)
Just weeks after becoming a mom, Kelly Rowland is mourning the loss of her own.
The 33-year-old former Destiny’s Child member confirmed that Doris Rowland Garrison died Tuesday in Atlanta at the age of 66.
“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my mother,” Rowland said in a statement to The Insider With Yahoo. “She was an incredible soul who made countless sacrifices so that I could become the woman — and now mother — I am today. We humbly appreciate all the love and support and only ask for privacy during this difficult time.”
Those sacrifices include allowing a young Rowland to move in with Beyoncé Knowles and her family as the girls were carving out a path to stardom.
“When I was 9, my mom was working as a live-in nanny,” Rowland explained to Interview magazine in 2001. “We were rehearsing every day and, with my mom’s schedule, she couldn’t really take me back and forth to all the rehearsals. So in order to make it work, my mom asked Tina [Knowles], ‘Could Kelly stay with you for the summer?’ And the summer turned into [11 years]. But it was like a big ol’ happy family because my mom came over every night to kiss me good night.”
She continued, “I say I have three parents — Tina and Mathew [Beyoncé’s father], and my mom — three wise people to help me.”
Rowland endures the loss of her mother at a time in her life when she’s been on top of the world. After tying the knot with her “best friend” Tim Weatherspoon in May in Costa Rica, the couple welcomed their first child, son Titan Jewell Weatherspoon, on Nov. 4.
Our Thoughts and Prayers goes out to the family.
