GENE SIMMONS Is 'Heartbroken' Over Mother's Death

Gene Simmons says that he is “heartbroken” over the death of his mother, who passed away at the age of 93.

The KISS bassist/vocalist took to his Instagram to share a picture of him as a boy with his mom, and paid tribute to the person that raised him as a single mother in Israel.

Gene wrote: “I lost my Mother. My mentor. My moral compass. And I am heartbroken. My Mother, Flora Klein, passed away at 93 years of age. No illness. No pain. She simply went quietly, went to sleep. My Mother will always be in my thoughts and in my heart. Today. And Forever. And I would urge all of you, to run over, put your arms around your mother, kiss her and tell her how much you love her. Do this every day!”

Simmons‘s wife, Shannon Tweed Simmons, called Flora “the best grandma and mother in law I could ask for.”

Gene‘s KISS partner and bandmate Paul Stanley posted a touching tribute to Florence on Twitter, writing: “She was his inspiration to live up to being worthy of the sacrifices she made in a very difficult and, at time, horrific life. A holocaust survivor, she fought for all she had, and her fierce protection and pride in Gene made her someone to be feared, admired and loved. I will miss her laugh and smile.”

A Hungarian Jew, Florence and her brother Larry were the only members of their family to survive internment at Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.

Earlier this year, Gene told The Sydney Morning Herald that his mother was his “hero. She was sent to a Nazi concentration camp at the age of 14 and survived, but all the members of her family were wiped out — she saw her mother walk into a gas chamber. Despite the tragedy, she is a positive person who sees the goodness in people’s hearts. I wouldn’t be that forgiving if I had lived her life.”

In September, KISS announced its “End Of The Road” farewell tour on NBC‘s “America’s Got Talent”, and a month later, the band revealed the first set of dates and cities in North America, produced by Live Nation. International markets were announced simultaneously.

The first North American leg of “End Of The Road” will launch January 31 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Rogers Arena and will hit an additional 43 cities.

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I lost my Mother. My mentor. My moral compass. And I am heartbroken. ? My Mother, Flora Klein passed away at 93 years of age. No illness. No pain. She simply quietly, went to sleep. My Mother will always be in my thoughts and in my heart. Today. And Forever. And I would urge all of you, to run over, put your arms around your mother, kiss her and tell her how much you love her. Do this every day!

A post shared by Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) on Dec 6, 2018 at 9:22pm PST