Jack White has shared news of his mother’s passing with fans, reflecting on her influence on the family in a moving tribute on social media.
As the former White Stripes frontman announced on Instagram this Saturday (March 14), his mother Teresa Gillis passed away at the age of 95.
She was a staple of White’s live shows in Detroit, and he would frequently shout her out from the stage, once bringing her out on stage at a Little Caesars Arena gig in 2018 to sing ‘Hotel Yorba’ with him. Later, in 2023, he dedicated the same song to her as she watched from the balcony.
“She was a Saint,” White wrote on Instagram, going on to say his mother was “a woman who gave so much of her love, and gave so much of herself, to her family and everyone she met. She prayed for everyone daily. She loved the song ‘Don’t fence me in,’ and loved jigsaw puzzles and good Polish food.
“She smiled and laughed so much, especially in these last few days with her family, who will all miss her dearly,” White continued. “She was the youngest of 10 just like me, so we had that special bond together on top of everything else she gave me. They really don’t make them like this anymore, and as George Jones once sang, that tough question lingers, ‘Who’s gonna fill their shoes?’”
As White mentioned, Gillis had 10 children and was 45 when she gave birth to White, the family’s seventh son. Per The Detroit Daily News, Gillis once worked as an usher at Detroit’s Masonic Temple and later served as a secretary for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
White credited his mother with instilling his work ethic, recalling a moment she’d visited him at work in a Nashville studio and expressing misgivings about his work rate.
“I offered to drop her off at home and she says, ‘No, you’re not dropping me off, because you’re not going to go back and rehearse and if you do, I’m going to be mad,’” he told The Guardian in 2012: “OK, Mom, I’ll stay home.”
More recently, he’d shared endearingly anecdote about her back in January, telling fans: “My 95 year old mother just FaceTimed me from Detroit and said the most hilarious joke; she said “They’re saying on the news that you should check on older people during this ice storm, so I thought I’d give you a call.“
“I laughed so loud! Love you Teresa.”
The post Jack White announces passing of mother Teresa Gillis: “Rest in peace with the Lord” appeared first on NME.
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