Music legend Frank Zappa's widow Gail Zappa has passed away at the age of 70.
"[She] departed this earth peacefully at her home on Wednesday, October 7, 2015, surrounded by her children," the Zappa family wrote on their website. "Gail will forever be identified as a key figure in the creative renaissance that is Laurel Canyon. But more than any singular accomplishment, she defined herself in her personal relationships, happiest when surrounded by loved ones and artists, often one and the same. The memories she leaves behind are indeed her own art form. Her searing intelligence, unforgettable smile, wild thicket of hair and trailing black velvets leave a blur in her wake."
While the family never revealed an actual cause of death, TMZ noted that she had been battling with lung cancer for a long time.
Gail and Frank, who passed in 1993 from prostate cancer, had four children together, Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva, according to Rolling Stone. She was left as the executrix of the Zappa Family Trust when he died, and it was announced earlier this year that their son Ahmet would be put in charge of the trust. She has kept all of Frank's records in the public and has put out 38 albums of his unreleased music over the past two decades.
She opened up to Rolling Stone back in August about the documentary that Alex Winter is making about Frank's life, which is set to be released sometime in 2017. "My obligation was to get the work out there the way Frank built it in the first place," she said of keeping his legacy alive. "If I was gonna have to do this myself, I would want the question answered: 'Why the f-k would anyone want to be a composer?' I know the answer to that, because I lived it. I just want it revealed."
