Isabelle Lennon Miller, 85; Mother of Singing Trio the Lennon Sisters

Isabelle “Sis” Lennon Miller, 85, the mother of the singing Lennon Sisters, died May 1 of congestive heart failure in Branson, Mo., according to Sandi Padnos, a Los Angeles-based publicist for the family, who announced her death Tuesday.

The Lennon Sisters, who starred on Lawrence Welk’s TV show in the 1950s, made their national debut with Welk on his Christmas program in 1955. The sisters -- then 14, 12 and 9 -- soon became one of Welk’s most popular acts. They split from him in the late 1960s and eventually had their own television show with Jimmy Durante.

Miller was the mother of 12. Three of her sons and a daughter-in-law are entertainers singing in Branson, and a son-in-law and grandsons perform as a rock band.

Miller was born in Los Angeles on July 25, 1919. She graduated from Venice High School and married William Herbert Lennon a year later. They were married for 30 years until his death in 1969. At 79, she married her high school sweetheart, Joseph Braxton Miller. The couple moved from Venice to Branson in 1996.