Beyoncé’s Uncle Rowland Martin ‘Butch’ Buyince has died aged 77

Beyoncé’s Uncle Martin ‘Butch’ Buyince has died at the age of 77, her mother and Martin’s sister, Tina Knowles shared the news in an Instagram post and wrote: “My Beautiful big brother Butch went to be with God this weekend. I will miss him so much!

“He was a career Airforce man. He loved riding Motorcycles, was a black belt in Karate and had the most beautiful green eyes and good looks. He was a great story teller.”

Tina Knowles also wrote that “He had an incredible wife Jeanette and devoted daughter Dana two beautiful grandchildren Yvette and Roland. He was greatly loved. Sail on Butch Rowland Martin (Butch) Buyince’ June 1946-Feb 2024 RIP.”

Tina Knowles is the youngest of seven siblings and her full name is Celestine Ann Beyonce. According to The US Sun “She was the first in her family to spell her surname differently to the usual way of Buyince, used by her siblings and parents. This is believed to be due to a clerical error when printing her birth certificate. It was her brother's Butch’s suggestion to name Tina’s daughter Beyonce after the mistake.”

Beyoncé paid tribute to another late family member, her Uncle Jonny spelled Johnny’ on her album Renaissance. Ahead of the release of Renaissance, Beyoncé wrote an open letter to her fans and said: "A big thank you to my Uncle Jonny. He was my godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album,"

Beyoncé wrote in the note to fans. "Thank you to all of the pioneers who originate culture, to all of the fallen angels whose contributions have gone unrecognised for far too long. This is a celebration for you."

People magazine reported that Beyoncé “was 17 years old when Johnny died from complications related to HIV.”