Cissy Houston's heartbreaking reaction to daughter Whitney's death

Cissy Houston's heartbreaking reaction to her daughter Whitney's death has resurfaced after the matriarch died on Monday at the age of 91.

In a sit-down interview with Oprah in January 2013 - almost a year after Whitney drowned in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub at 48 - Cissy told the talk show host she was 'alone' and a 'wreck' when she got word of her only daughter's death. 

She told Oprah that she received a chilling phone call from one of her sons the day Whitney was discovered. 

'Well, my son called me and he was screaming, "Ma, mommy!" And I said "Oh God, what is wrong?" and he just said "Nippy, Nippy,"' Cissy said, referring to Whitney by the nickname her family gave her. 

Cissy revealed that she soon grew 'annoyed' with her son because she wasn't understanding what he was trying to tell her. 

'He said, "I don't know, I can't go back up there again". I said "You can't go back up where?" He said, "Upstairs, they found Nippy,"' she added. 

'And I said, "They found her? What? What," and I was getting annoyed because he wasn't telling me anything. 

'I said, "Is she dead?" and he said "Yeah mommy she's dead," and I don't remember too much else after that.

'I was alone. I was a wreck, I was just a wreck,' Cissy said. 

Cissy died Monday at her home in New Jersey while receiving hospice care for Alzheimer's disease, her family said.   

Her daughter-in-law Pat Houston told the Associated Press that the songstress died surrounded by her family. 

'Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,' she said in a statement announcing the 91-year-old's death.

'Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. 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.'

Seen as the matriarch of the Houston singing dynasty, Cissy struggled to come to terms with her daughter Whitney's death - which was followed three years later by her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina in an eerily similar passing when she was also found dead in her bathtub.

Following Cissy's passing, her family said in a statement that she may now 'rest in peace alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members.'

Before her daughter shot to stardom, Cissy was best known for her work with the backup group Sweet Inspirations, and her powerful vocals can be heard supporting soul legends including Otis Redding and Lou Rawls.

After going solo, she won her first Grammy in 1997 for her album 'Face to Face', before winning her second for best traditional soul gospel album the following year with 'He Leadeth Me.'

Now, 12 years after her beloved daughter died, a letter Cissy wrote to her has also resurfaced.   

The heart-wrenching tribute was published in the program of Whitney's funeral service and shared by TMZ at the time.

The mother-of-three — who also shared sons Gary and Michael with ex-husbands Freddie Garland John Houston respectively — wrote, 'Dearest Whitney: The presence of God blessed our home with life, love, joy and peace. You and your brothers were the center of divine love attracting God’s richest blessings.

'You were a child of God. We had so much love in our home that was truly from on high. You always gave without expecting anything in return and our love was the force that multiplied these blessings higher and higher.'

The grieving parent continued, 'I never told you that when you were born the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long and I thank God for the beautiful flower he allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years.'

Using the I Wanna Dance with Somebody hitmaker's nickname, she added, 'God said it’s time Nippy; your work is done. The other day on February 11th He came for you.

'But not without warning. For two months now I have been depressed, crying, lonesome and sad not knowing why.'

She shared the haunting recollection, 'On Saturday, before I found out about your transition, my doorbell rang. I went to answer it but there was no one there. It rang again and again, no one was there so I called the concierge to tell him someone was ringing my doorbell. He checked the cameras and told me that no one was there.'

The letter went on to say, 'You promised me you were coming to spend time with me after the Grammys. I believe the spirits allowed you to come after all. How I love you Nippy and how I miss you, your beautiful smile, your special little things you used to say to me and sometimes you’d call just to say “Hi Mommie, I love you so much.”'

Mourning her only daughter, Cissy concluded the message: 'I loved you so much more. I love you, I’ll miss you, Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter.

'Rest my baby girl in Peace, you’re now in the arms of Jesus. Love, Mommie.'

Bobby Brown, Whitney's ex-husband and father to Bobbi Kristina, soon reacted to his former mother-in-law's death on Monday.   

The 55-year-old singer and his spouse Alicia Etheredge-Brown, 50 told People in a statement Monday, 'Sending love and blessings to the Houston family on this great loss.

The Boston-born musical artist and his wife ended the brief statement in saying, 'May she rest in Peace and Power. The Browns.'

The Don't Be Cruel singer and the late Whitney Houston first crossed paths in 1989 and exchanged vows in July of 1992, divorcing 14 years later in April of 2007.

Cissy's last performance with Sweet Inspirations came in 1969, when her vocal band collaborated with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas.

Following further success as a group, including performing with Aretha Franklin, Cissy left the band to go solo after a total of four albums together.

Across the next decades of her career, Cissy worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Jimi Hendrix, Beyoncé, Luther Vandross - and later, her own daughter.

Speaking in 1998 of finding her most lucrative success in her twilight years, she told Jet Magazine: 'A lot of the things I’ve done have come late in life, and it’s like a whole new career starting up. I don’t have regrets about the way I planned and lived my life, and I am very proud of what I’ve become.'