The memorial service for Kanye West's late mother, Donda West, has been kicked off.
- Nov 17, 2007
AceShowbiz - The memorial service for Dr. Donda West, the late mother of rap icon Kanye West, has been kicked off. Numbers of people ranging from friends, colleagues to family members were celebrating her life with music and tributes at a memorial service held Friday November 16th at Chicago State University, where she was a faculty member for 24 years.
Kanye, who is said to be in Europe preparing for his upcoming tour, could not attend the memorial, and Donda's nephew represented the family instead.
With some Donda's friends spoke their eulogy, there were also some other friends who paid tribute through poem. One of them even recalled Donda as an "open and friendly" person, saying "It didn't matter if you had a PhD, a bachelor's degree or no degree at all. She made everyone feel important."
Dr. Brenda Eatman Aghahowa, the current head of the English department, which Donda once ran, led a call-and-response with the audience, saying "She was very clear that the work people are doing is not as important as the people who are doing it."
Some musicians and singers attending the service led the crowd in a rendition of the gospel song "I Will Rejoice."
Dr. Donda West passed away in Los Angeles on Saturday night November 10th. She was 58. Preliminary indication suggested that she died of cosmetic surgical complications. Investigation is still ongoing with Jan Adams, the doctor who performed surgery on Donda, as the only target so far.
