He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Barbara Avery; his mother, Florence Avery of Atlantic City; and a stepson, Kevin Waters. Our prayers go out to the friends and family of Mr. Avery. The cause of death was complications from open-heart surgery, said his manager, Toni Benson. Avery had surgery on November 11 and died on Tuesday 12/31/2013 evening at a hospital in Glendale, California, according to Benson.