Duck Dynasty Patriarch Phil Robertson Dead at 79

Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, died Sunday at age 79. Multiple family members announced the news in social media posts, People reports. Robertson had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and a blood disorder, and his family revealed in December that he was in pain and not doing well. One of his grandchildren shared about her grandfather's faith in her Instagram tribute. "It was his testimony that changed his life, our families life, and thousands of others. Now he is experiencing it in the fullness. Fully alive in Christ. The new has come," she wrote. "One of the last things he said to me was 'full strength ahead!' Amen!"

Other family tributes shared similar sentiments. Duck Dynasty, which aired on A&E for 11 seasons, followed Robertson, his wife, children, grandchildren, and employees as they worked at Duck Commander, the family hunting business, which Robertson started in 1972 with a duck call he eventually patented. Several spin-offs followed, and the network recently announced the show would be revived with one of Robertson's sons and his family as the featured players. As TMZ notes, Robertson himself was once briefly suspended from the original show after making racist and homophobic comments in a magazine profile. (More Duck Dynasty stories.)