Dave Matthews is in mourning.
The singer-songwriter‘s mother, Valerie Anne Matthews, has died after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 89.
Valerie passed away on Sunday, Feb. 9, at her home in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to her online obituary published Tuesday.
“Val’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild were able to gather around her in the days leading up to her death,” the obituary revealed. “It was a time of great sadness but also one of joy, filled with laughter and music and stories. Val’s kindness, graciousness and humor shone through to the end. Her family will always treasure this time together.”
Dave and his brother, Peter, along with his sister, Jane, were at their mother’s bedside when she died, TMZ reported on Wednesday.
The outlet added that Valerie was placed in hospice care after her health rapidly declined earlier this year due to “natural causes.” The sudden change led Matthews to drop out of the FireAid benefit concert just a day before it took place in Los Angeles on Jan. 30. In a Jan. 29 announcement posted on the Dave Matthews Band’s Instagram, the group cited “a critical illness in the family” as the reason for the cancellation.
Born on May 11, 1935, in Potchefstroom, South Africa, to a geologist and an artist, Valerie went on to earn a degree in architecture at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
In 1961, Val, as she was known to her friends, married John Matthews, and together they moved to Charlottesville with their children — Dave, Peter, Anne and Jane — after his work brought him to the University of Virginia. They were married for 15 years before John passed away from Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 45.
In 1994, Valerie faced another devastating loss when her daughter Anne, 29, was tragically killed by her husband, who later took his own life, leaving behind their two young children.
“Although devastated by Anne’s death, Val stepped into the breach, gaining custody of her grandchildren and bringing them back to Charlottesville, where they were embraced by extended family,” her obit read. “Val did not allow tragedy or grief to define her. She rejoiced in family and friends, and delighted in simple pleasures.”
The announcement continued, “In the final years of her life, Val was cared for in her home by a devoted team of caregivers. Val’s family will be forever grateful to this remarkable group of women for their selflessness, diligence, humor, and love, and for the grace and dignity they afforded Val as she battled Alzheimers Disease.”
Valerie was employed at the firm Hayward, Llorens, and Boyd until her retirement in 1994. She had a deep appreciation for nature, poetry, and watercolor painting, as noted in her obituary.
“Val was a passionate advocate for peace, environmental conservation, marriage equality, and women’s rights, never afraid to use her voice,” her obituary stated. “She spoke out against racism, bigotry, and small-mindedness through social activism and frequent letters to the editor.”
Valerie is survived by Dave and his wife Ashley, son Peter and his wife Kathleen, daughter Jane and her husband Sam, six grandchildren and one great-grandson, Freddie.
She was predeceased by her first husband John, daughter Ashley and her second husband, Lee Strait, who died in 2000 after a stroke. Valerie and Strait married in 1991.