Billy Joel announced on Monday that his mother, Rosalind Nyman Joel, has died. She was 92-years-old.
A statement posted on the “New York State of Mind” singer’s website said that Rosalind died on July 13.
Rosalind was born on Feb. 15, 1922 in Brooklyn to parents who had immigrated from England. She later met Howard Joel at City College of New York in 1942 and married in 1946 following World War II. Howard Joel’s family had escaped Nazi Germany and he served in the Army during the war.
Billy Joel was born in May 1949. The couple also adopted Judy, Rosalind’s late sister’s daughter. They divorced in 1957, at which point Rosalind moved to Long Island.
While being devoted to charity work, she also pushed her son’s musical education, instilling a love of classical music. That interest in music also fueled Billy Joel’s pop music career.
Billy Joel wrote “Rosalinda’s Eyes” as a tribute to his mother. The song appears in the 1978 hit album 52nd Street.
The family asks fans to send donations to The Little Shelter in lieu of flowers.
image of Billy Joel courtesy of INFphoto.com