Glen Campbell’s daughter Ashley Campbell shared a poignant tribute to her late father on Instagram on Tuesday, August 8.
Ashley, 30, shared a photo of herself holding hands with the country superstar while a blanket covered his legs. “Heartbroken,” she captioned the photo. ‘I owe him everything I am, and everything I ever will be. He will be remembered so well and with so much love.”
Campbell’s family confirmed that the musician died on Tuesday at age 81 in a statement on his personal website. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of 81, following his long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease,” the statement read. “In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Glen Campbell Memorial Fund at BrightFocus Foundation through the CareLiving.orgdonation page.”
The songwriter, whose career spanned six decades, passed away at a Nashville-area facility for Alzheimer’s patients, TMZ reports. The “Gentle on My Mind” singer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011 after suffering from memory loss for years, and filmed a 2014 documentary, Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me, which chronicled his battle with the disease.
He is survived by his wife, Kim Campbell, and their three children, Cal, Shannon and Ashley. He also had five children from previous marriages, Debby, Kelli, Travis, Kane and Dillion, as well as ten grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren.
Ashley previously told Rolling Stone Country in May that her dad was happy in his final few months. “Little glimpses of him will come back every now and then, and it just makes me so happy,” she said. “It could be confusion and anger a lot of the time, which is the case for a lot of peeple I’ve seen. But for him he’s just happy every day, smiles, he enjoys life and he enjoys being around people — and he loves a good piece of cake.”