Jon Bon Jovi, the man who made big hair and leather pants cool, has announced that his supermom has strummed her final chord.
Carol Bongiovi, the legendary matriarch, took her final encore on Tuesday (July 9) at Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey, just three days shy of her 84th birthday. Talk about bad timing – couldn’t those celestial beings wait for the cake?
In a heartfelt and harmonized statement, Jon, who is still rockin’ at 62, sang his praises for his mom, who had a can-do attitude that could have built a whole rock arena single-handedly. “Our mother was a force to be reckoned with. Her spirit and can-do attitude shaped this family. She will be greatly missed,” the family crooned to People.
Carol wasn’t just any mom; she was the founding fan club president of Bon Jovi, the band that gave us timeless hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive” – though now it’s just “Wanted Alive.” On top of her rockin’ fan club duties, Carol was an entrepreneur and even rocked the U.S. Marine Corps. Yes, she could bake cookies, run a business, and march in combat boots. Talk about multitasking!
Surviving her are her husband of 63 years, Jon Sr., who clearly knows how to keep a good thing going, and their three rockin’ sons and daughters-in-law: Jon and wife Dorothea (who probably has her own shrine by now), Anthony and Nina Yang Bongiovi, and Matthew and Desiree Bongiovi. Oh, and let’s not forget the eight grandchildren who now have an angelic groupie watching over them.
So, while we crank up the volume and shed a tear for Carol, let’s remember her legacy of rocking hard, loving fiercely, and probably being the only Marine veteran who knew all the words to “You Give Love a Bad Name.” Rock in peace, Carol. You’ve earned it.
