Jon Bon Jovi’s Mother Carol Bongiovi Dies at 83

Jon Bon Jovi’s mom, Carol Bongiovi, died Tuesday of unspecified causes at age 83, three days shy of her 84th birthday.

The singer confirmed the information in a press release despatched on behalf of his household to People journal: “Our mother was a force to be reckoned with, her spirit and can-do attitude shaped this family. She will be greatly missed.”

Born Carol Sharkey in (*83*), Pennsylvania in 1940, Carol Bongiovi moved to Sayreville, NJ along with her husband John Francis Bongiovi, who she met when each have been within the Marines. There future rock star son Jon was born in 1962. Carol was a florist and in addition one of many first Playboy bunnies.

Read More: Rock Star With Their Moms

According to Laura Jackson’s 2004 ebook Jon Bon Jovi: The Biography, Carol purchased Jon his first guitar at age seven and inspired him to observe his musical goals. She additionally later based the band’s fan membership, incomes herself the nickname “Mom Jovi.”

“What I got from my parents was the ability to make the dream reality,” Bon Jovi defined to The Big Issue in 2020. “Even if you truly weren’t any good at your craft, if you believed you were, you could work on it. As I got older I realized that was a great gift that I got from my folks. They truly believed in the John Kennedy mantra of going to the moon. ‘Yeah, of course you can go to the moon. Just go, Johnny.’ And there I went.”

Bon Jovi could be seen performing in entrance of a big {photograph} of his younger mother and father within the video for 2021’s “Story of Love.”

Watch Bon Jovi Perform ‘Story of Love’