According to Channel 9's Robyn R, Prince's mom, passed away last Friday.

[Thanks lmwp for the update & link below... --Ben]

http://www.startribune.co...36303.html

{{{Mattie Baker, 68, mother of singer Prince, dies
Jon Bream
Star Tribune

Published Feb 20, 2002
Mattie Baker, the mother of rock star Prince and a longtime social worker in the Minneapolis public school system, died Friday at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. She was 68. }}}

Her husband, Hayward Baker, said Tuesday that she had been hospitalized for a couple of months, and that she had had a kidney transplant three or four years ago.

"She had gobs of friends," her husband said. "It'll be a big funeral -- five or six limousines."

Baker earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Minnesota and spent more than 20 years as a social worker at Edison, Franklin, Harrison and other Minneapolis schools. She retired about five years ago.

"She loved working with children," said her daughter, Tyka Nelson.

Wayne Jensen, who worked with Baker at the Harrison Education Center, recalls how wonderful she was when making home visits. "One time there was a parent actually drinking mouthwash," he recalled. "She confronted the parent about how they were taking care of their student. I've never seen anyone like her who could, in a tactful way, talk about caring for their child."

Born Mattie Shaw, she was a singer who joined the Prince Roger Trio in the 1950s. She married the group's keyboardist, John Nelson, quit the band and had two children, Prince and Tyka. After divorcing Nelson, she married Baker 34 years ago, and they had a son, Omarr. They lived in a suburban Minneapolis house that Prince bought for them about 15 years ago.

Members of Prince's organization remember his mom showing up for the big events, such as Twin Cities concerts, his first wedding in 1996 and the premiere of the film "Purple Rain" in Hollywood in 1984.

"I can't believe all the stars," she gushed to the Star Tribune at the premiere as she walked into Mann's Chinese Theater, where Eddie Murphy, Morgan Fairchild, Christopher Reeve and others had turned out.

The quasi-autobiographical movie depicted a tempestuous relationship between the mother and father of the lead character, played by Prince. One of the film's songs, the hit "When Doves Cry," referred to Prince's parents: "Maybe I'm just like my father -- too bold/Maybe you're just like my mother/She's never satisfied."

At John Nelson's funeral in August 2001, Baker was in a wheelchair. She had arthritis in addition to kidney problems, Hayward Baker said.

In addition to her husband and children, survivors include her twin sister, Edna, of Las Vegas, and two grandchildren.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Zion Baptist Church in north Minneapolis.

why is everyone dying?