My sincere condolences go out to Tyler Perry and his family on the loss of his mother, Mrs. Willie Maxine Perry. Perry announced the sad news via his Web site Tuesday, December 8th where he thanked fans for they’re prayers and well wishes.

According to Access Atlanta, Perry sent out posts on his FaceBook and Twitter pages late Tuesday morning, directing fans and followers to his Web site saying, “I just sent out an email that I’d like to share with you. Please check it out.” The announcement turned out to be a prayer request for his ailing mother who had been sick since late August. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Maxine Perry was a pre-school teacher who worked at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center most of her life. Perry, 40, is said to have gotten inspiration from his mother, as well as his aunt, for his popular “Madea” character.

“In Loving Memory. Willie Maxine Perry. February 12, 1945 to December 8, 2009″

MC Breed (full name Eric Breed) died in his sleep at a friend’s house in Ypsilanti, a suburb of Detroit. He was pronounced dead Saturday, November 22, 2008. Breed, 37, had been suffering from kidney failure. 

“We are saddened by our great loss. More than just an artist, we mourn the loss of a beloved father, son, brother and friend,” his family and management said. “We are thankful and blessed to have been in his presence and want him to be remembered for his creative, caring, talented and hard-working spirit.”

Related:

MC Breed Collapses in Atlanta // Seeks Kidney Transplant

A private funeral is being planned for Def Jam Record’s Executive Vice-President, Shakir Stewart, who shot himself with a handgun at his Marietta home on Saturday. 

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, police have declined to release additional details regarding Stewart’s death. Funeral arrangements are still pending, said a spokesman at Murray Bros. Cascade Chapel in Atlanta. According to the Cobb medical examiner’s office, the autopsy report will take up to 12 weeks.  (Source)

Just one day shy of this year’s historical election, Senator Barack Obama’s grandmother has passed away:  

Madelyn Payne Dunham, Senator Barack Obama’s maternal grandmother, died in Honolulu early this morning. She was 86 and had been suffering from cancer. Dunham helped raise the Democratic presidential nominee and frequently was cited in his speeches as an inspiration. Two weeks ago Obama took a day off from his campaign to visit the ailing woman he called Toot — a form of Tutu, which means “grandparent” in Hawaiian.

Dunham died between 3 and 4 a.m. Hawaii time, with Obama’s half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng at her side. Media outlets reported that Obama learned of the death shortly after 8 a.m. today in Jacksonville, Fla.

A statement released this afternoon by Obama and Soetoro-Ng said, “She was the cornerstone of our family and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.”

“It’s very, very sad, because we all hoped that she would be able to sustain her strength through Election Day itself,” said Hawaii Democratic Representative Neil Abercrombie, a family friend. “She passed away confident that he would succeed … His strength, his calm demeanor that characterized him in these last weeks and last days — this quiet strength that come across so clearly — that comes from his grandmother; there’s no question about that. It’s her great legacy. (Source)

The Democratic Presidential nominee paid an emotional tribute to his late Grandmother today during a rally in Charlotte, NC: