Kelly Rowland Mourns Death of Mother at 66

Doris Rowland Garrison, who died Tuesday in Atlanta, was “an incredible soul who made countless sacrifices,” the singer said

PHOTO: COURTESY KELLY ROWLAND
Kelly Rowland is mourning the death of her mother.

The singer announced in a statement that Doris Rowland Garrison died Tuesday in Atlanta at age 66 – days before her birthday on Saturday.

“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my mother, Doris Rowland Garrison,” said the former Destiny’s Child member, who recently became a mom herself.

“She was an incredible soul who made countless sacrifices so that I could become the woman – and now mother – I am today,” Rowland added. “We humbly appreciate all the love and support and only ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

Rowland and her husband, Tim Weatherspoon, welcomed a baby boy, Titan Jewell, on Nov. 4. A week later, Rowland – who has embarked on a solo career but reunited earlier this year with Destiny’s Child – released a new song dedicated to her son, titled “Mommy’s Little Baby.”

Garrison has one other child, Rowland’s older brother Orlando.

Former Destiny’s Child singer, Kelly Rowland, has just opened up some very fresh emotional wounds for her during her new interview on 60 Minutes. That wound is the sudden death of her beloved mother Doris Rowland.

The year 2014 was the most joyful and painful one for Kelly. She married the love of her life, Tim Witherspoon, on May 9, 2014 in Costa Rica. She gave birth to their son (her first and only child), Titan Jewell Witherspoon, on November 4, 2014. Then sadly, just three weeks after Titan’s birth, her Mother died suddenly from a heart attack at age 66. It was the greatest pain Kelly had ever felt in her life.

The exact date of Doris Rowland’s passing is unclear, but on December 2, 2014, Kelly released this statement at the time of her Mother’s untimely death:

elly Rowland with her mother, Doris Rowland
“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my mother, Doris Rowland Garrison. 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.” -via Essence

Now, almost two and a half years later, Kelly is painfully opening up about the woman she loved more than any other woman on the face of this earth and the thing she most regretted doing to her just before she passed away. Below are a few things she discussed in her interview with 60 Minutes:

“It just came out of nowhere,” Kelly revealed about her mother’s death, stating that she was ready to “fight with her” Mom through it, but it was too late.

When asked what the last thing her Mother said to her was, that’s when Kelly became even more emotional and admitted that was one of her “greatest regrets.”

“Oh, that was really tough,” said Kelly. “That was … That’s a really tough question. It’s one of my greatest regrets. I actually…I have to carry that to my grave.”

She further revealed that she just was not ready to discuss what she did to her mother that she’ll forever regret. The host, Peter Stefanovic, respected her wishes and moved on.

Kelly then went on to explain how she was by her Mother’s side at the time of her death and how her Mom’s passing engulfs her thoughts every single day of her life, understandably so.

Here’s what else was reported about Kelly’s emotional breakdown:

Via News.com: Rowland said the loss of her mother was hard to face because she had just given birth to her son, and then she watched her mother die. “I just watched my son come into this world, and I watched her go,” she recalled. “Like, literally watched her go. I remember when they pulled the plug,” she said as she choked back tears. She then went on to say that “life is such a beautiful, cruel thing”. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about her,” she said.

KELLY ON HER PAST JEALOUSY OF BEYONCE’

As many Destiny’s Child fans know, a few years ago, Kelly confessed in her music that she went threw a period of time where she was extremely jealous of her former group member, Beyonce’. She has since explained where that jealousy came from:

“I wouldn’t say it was jealousy, I was happy for her but I was wondering why things weren’t igniting for me the way I wanted them to in my head.”

Kelly said that she let Beyonce hear the song first and that they both “shed a tear” at the time. That was Beyonce’s first time learning how Kelly actually felt about her and the mega success she was having in comparison to her own.

We applaud Kelly for being so transparent about her emotions. Her story reminds all of us that because we never know when our’s nor our loved ones’ last breathe may be, it’s imperative that we do everything in our power to live life to the fullest and most importantly, tell those we love that we love them, honor them, and appreciate them for all that they are, every chance we get.