Phil Robertson, star of Duck Dynasty, has died aged 79 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
The news was shared by his daughter-in-law Korie Robertson, who shared a post to Facebook on May 26 (Australian time).
“We celebrate today that our father, husband, and grandfather, Phil Robertson, is now with the Lord,” she shared with fans.
Watch the video above
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“Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus.
“We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again.”
She assured fans they would have a chance to publicly celebrate his life.
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“We know so many of you love him and have been impacted by his life,” she shared, “We’re having a private service for now, but we’ll share details soon about a public celebration of his life.”
Robertson was a teacher and commercial fisherman before inventing the Duck Commander call, a tool for hunting ducks, with turned into their multi-million dollar family owned and operated business Duck Commander.
The family featured on Duck Dynasty from 2012 to 2017, with the show becoming the most-watched nonfiction cable series in history just one year into production.
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The show was presented as a sitcom and showed how Phil and his brother Si, as well as Phil’s sons Jase, Willie and Jep ran the business, along with their children and coworkers.
A reboot of the famed show is in the works, with Duck Dynasty: Revival due to star Korie and Willie Robertson and their family. Phil did not make an appearance in the show.
The sad news comes as Phil’s son Jase made a confession that his dad was not doing good following the Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
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The 55-year-old shared on the April 2 episode of the Unashamed with the Robertson Family podcast that “The No. 1 question I get everywhere I go [is], ‘How’s your dad doing?’ Now, I’m just giving the blunt truth. I say, ‘Not good,’
Jase, who was joined by his brother Al Robertson and cousin Zach Dasher on the podcast, noted that Zach had a difficult reaction to seeing his uncle’s state after visiting him while he was under professional care.
“Zach just lost it, you know. And I kind of realised in that moment, when you’re in these battles day by day, you kind of compartmentalise everything, just so you can deal with it.
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“After a while, you’re just like, well, I got to do the best I can and be a rock for. And so that’s kind of what we’re doing, you know, with my dad,” he said.
He added, “We’re making him comfortable and we’re doing the best we can. I think that’s just what you do.”
Jase first revealed his father’s diagnosis in December, stating he was in the “early stages” of the condition.
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