show, Soul Train. Death and legacy Tilley retired from the music industry and got married in July 1972. After marrying, Tilley and her husband both relocated to Texas and settled in the Houston area. Tilley developed a brain tumor around 1979, and surgery was performed at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada in late-1983. Tilley died after having a brain aneurysm on September 9, 1983 at the age of 37 or 38 (sources differ). She was buried in Highland Park Cemetery in Highland Ohio. In 2002, it was reported that no grave marker had been created for Tilley’s final resting place, and she remains in an unmarked grave. In recent years, her former Vandella band mate, Lois Reeves, has made a few efforts to have a marker created for Tilley, however since there are no connection to Tilley’s kin, the efforts have been unsuccessful. Tilley’s grave lies unmarked today. Tilley had no children, and was survived by her husband and grandmother. References 1945 births 1946 births 1981 deaths Musicians from Cleveland Singers from Ohio American sopranos American soul singers Martha and the Vandellas members Deaths from intracranial aneurysm 20th-century African-American women singers