Editing Muddy Waters (section)

==Personal life, death and estate==

Muddy Waters was married to his first wife, Mabel Berry, from 1932 to 1935.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dicytrends.com/mabel-berry-facts-about-muddy-waters-wife/ | title=Mabel Berry: Facts About Muddy Waters' Wife - Dicy Trends | date=July 14, 2022 }}</ref>

Muddy Waters' second wife, whom he married in the 1940s, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of three of his children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in [[Westmont, Illinois]]. In 1977, he met Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine", at a Florida hotel;<ref>[http://www.blues-finland.com/english/muddy_waters_biography_3.html Muddy Waters Biography – Part 3]. Blues-Finland.com. Retrieved January 6, 2011.</ref> [[Eric Clapton]] served as best man at their wedding in 1979.<ref>[[Jet (magazine)|''Jet'']], June 28, 1979.</ref>

He had at least six children, including illegitimate children.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/30/books/books-of-the-times-untangling-muddy-waters-and-his-blues.html | title=BOOKS OF THE TIMES; Untangling Muddy Waters and His Blues | work=The New York Times | date=July 30, 2002 | last1=Pareles | first1=Jon }}</ref>

Two of his sons [[Mud Morganfield|Larry "Mud" Morganfield]] and [[Big Bill Morganfield]] are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017, his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues, and played occasionally with his brothers;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.josephmojomorganfield.com |title=Mojo Morganfield|last=Morganfield|first=Joseph Mojo|website=Mojo Morganfield|language=en-US|access-date=October 5, 2018}}</ref> he died in 2020 at the age of 56.<ref>[https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2020/12/10/22168310/joseph-mojo-morganfield-dead-muddy-waters-son-blues-obituary  Maureen O'Donnell and Miriam Di Nunzio, "Singer Joseph 'Mojo' Morganfield, son of blues legend Muddy Waters, has died at 56", ''Chicago Sun Times'', 10 December 2020]. Retrieved December 11, 2020</ref>

[[File:Muddy Waters Grave.jpg|thumb|The cemetery plot of Waters under his real name, McKinley Morganfield, in Restvale Cemetery, [[Alsip, Illinois]] ]]

Muddy Waters died in his sleep at his home in [[Westmont, Illinois]], on April 30, 1983 from [[heart failure]] and cancer-related complications.<ref>{{cite web |title=Muddy Waters, Blues Performer, Dies |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0404.html |website=Archive.nytimes.com}}</ref> He was taken from his Westmont home, where he lived for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in [[Downers Grove, Illinois]],<ref name="auto">{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Clifford |title=Late bluesman Muddy Waters at center of legal dispute in DuPage |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-muddy-waters-estate-suit-met-20150415-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune |date=April 15, 2015 |access-date=June 25, 2018}}</ref> where he was pronounced dead. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at [[Restvale Cemetery]] in [[Alsip, Illinois]]. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.

After his death, a decades-long court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his manager at the time. In 2010, his heirs were petitioning the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator who would then control the assets of his estate which were mainly copyrights to his music.<ref name="auto"/> The petition to reopen the estate was successful. Following Cameron's death, the heirs' lawyers, in May 2018, sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for allegedly diverting royalty income. The heirs, however, asked for that citation not to be pursued. The last court date was held on July 10, 2018,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Clifford |title=Muddy Waters' heirs back off on contempt claim as dispute over bluesman's estate continues in DuPage |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ct-met-muddy-waters-estate-dispute-update-20180509-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune|date=May 9, 2018 }}</ref> and, as of 2023, the disputed arrangement remained unchanged.<ref>[https://www.grunge.com/905284/what-happened-to-muddy-waters-estate-after-his-death/  William Kennedy, "What Happened To Muddy Waters' Estate After His Death?", ''Grunge.com'', June 23, 2022]. Retrieved January 23, 2023</ref>