Maria H. Cole | Singer, Nat's widow, 89

Maria Hawkins Cole, 89, widow of jazz crooner Nat "King" Cole and mother of singer Natalie Cole, has died in South Florida after a short battle with cancer.

A representative of the family confirmed that she died Tuesday at a Boca Raton hospice, surrounded by her family.

Before and after marrying the famed singer and piano player, Mrs. Cole had her own singing career, performing with greats such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Born in Boston in 1922, she lived as a child in North Carolina after her mother died, according to a statement from the family. She later moved to New York to pursue a music career

According to her family, Ellington heard recordings of Mrs. Cole singing and hired her as a vocalist with his orchestra. She stayed with him until 1946, when she began soloing at the city's Club Zanzibar as an opening act for the Mills Brothers. There she met Nat Cole.

They married in 1948. Mrs. Cole traveled and performed with her husband throughout the 1950s. After he died of cancer in 1965, she created the Cole Cancer Foundation.

Her children, Natalie, Timolin, and Casey Cole, said in a joint statement that their mother "died how she lived - with great strength, courage and dignity. . . ." - AP