Dionne Warwick ‘Deeply Saddened’ By Death of Aunt Cissy Houston

Dionne Warwick is speaking out after the death of her aunt, Cissy Houston.

Warwick, 83, shared a statement to X on Tuesday, Oct. 8, one day after Cissy died at her home in Newark, N.J. while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease. She was 91.

“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,” Warwick wrote. “I have seen your messages of condolences. On behalf of my family, thank you. ❤️”

Both Cissy and Warwick got their start as singers in the family gospel group the Drinkard Singers, which was managed by Warwick’s mother Lee, who was Cissy’s sister.

“I called her Aunt Cissy growing up,” Warwick told PEOPLE in 2022. “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 recalled Cissy having “an incredible voice” — one that transferred to her daughter, Whitney.

“Whitney came up exactly the way we all did, in the church choir. It was just preordained, she was going to sing,” Warwick said. “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.'”

The year after Whitney’s death in 2012, Cissy published the book Remembering Whitney, for which Warwick wrote the foreword.

“[Cissy] might have felt like an older sister to us, but she never let us forget she was our aunt. She was a strong young woman then, and she is a strong, loving woman now,” the singer wrote. “Cissy has always wanted the best for everyone in her family. She’s always giving encouragement and support, and she’s tried on many occasions to give advice.”

Cissy later thanked Warwick in the book’s acknowledgements section for “her support over the years.”

Cissy’s death was announced in a statement shared by her daughter-in-law Pat Houston, who said the family has “lost the matriarch of our family.”

“Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives,” the statement said. “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. Her contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled. We are blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us and we are thankful for all the many valuable life lessons that she taught us. May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members.”