When Elliott Yamin addressed the crowd at his mother’s funeral a few hours ago, he summarized her legacy perfectly.
Whenever he’s walking down the street and a stranger approaches, he said, they usually have two questions. The second one is, is Simon really that much of a jerk? But the first is, how is your mother doing?
In an emotional ceremony at Bliley’s-Central, Elliott and his brother Scott spoke to the 150 or so people gathered to remember Claudette’s humor, her warmth and her honesty.
Both sons recounted, with tearful smiles, how much their mother loved the attention she received as a result of Elliott’s rise on “American Idol.“
In fact, we—Melissa and Cynthia—ordinarily wouldn’t have considered recounting what happened at a private funeral. But, as Elliott said, his mother used to read the obituaries first thing every day. So it almost made him chuckle when he opened the paper and saw a tribute to Claudette.
Scott mentioned that he used to get annoyed when his mother would answer cell phone calls from his brother’s fans, but realized today that they weren’t just fans of Elliott’s—they were fans of Claudette, too. He also read aloud several of the condolence postings from http://www.inRich.com as proof of the affection many people had for Claudette—even those who never knew her.
One of Claudette’s cousins expounded on her ability to make everyone feel like part of the family—it was sort of like the Mafia, he said, once you’re in, you can never get out—and reiterated how proud she was of her two sons and their sister, Jodi, who was also in attendance.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Elliott and Scott referred to their mother as their best friend and credited her for the men that they have become. Elliott said his mother’s love for music—she used to be a singer herself—had fostered the same love in him.
Only family, extended family and invited friends attended the private burial service, including Elliott’s “American Idol” competitor and friend Ace Young. Ace, who said he lives 2 miles from Elliott in Los Angeles, flew in from Atlanta for the funeral.
The thing about his mom, said Elliott, is this: Even if he hadn’t achieved the success he has, the outpouring of support would have been just the same. It was his mother—his honest, wisecracking, loving mother—who inspired and deserved such tender tribute.

—Melissa Ruggieri and Cynthia McMullen