Rapper, mom shared strong ties

By Matt Dinger

Published: November 13, 2007

Kanye West's mother, an Oklahoma City high school graduate, may have died of complications related to a surgical procedure, a coroner's official in Los Angeles said Monday.

Donda West, who graduated in 1967 from Douglass High School, died Saturday.

She was 58.

She was the daughter of civil rights activist Portwood Williams Sr., a funeral home spokeswoman said.

Howard Harris Funeral Services in Oklahoma City will be handling the memorial service.

Burial will be in Oklahoma, though dates are tentative.

Arrangements will be finalized after the autopsy, said Audrey Howard-Harris, owner and funeral director of Howard-Harris Funeral Services.

A memorial service also is planned in California, likely later this week, she said. A funeral home in California is handling that service.

West's family asks the media respect their privacy in their time of grief, Howard-Harris said.

West was known for the strong bond she shared with her hip-hop star son.

She was often seen by his side at parties and award shows, and he often spoke of his close relationship with his mother, who raised him alone after her husband left when Kanye was 3-years-old.

West was the former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English department. She also served as chief executive of West Brands LLC, the parent company of her son's business enterprises.

She also was chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, an educational nonprofit that works to decrease dropout rates and improve literacy.

Patricia Green, a consultant who has worked as a publicist for West in the past, had previously told news agencies that West died after cosmetic surgery. She backed away from those comments in later interviews with The Associated Press, saying she was unsure of the cause because she had received conflicting information.

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