Michael Jackson's estate has said they are "deeply saddened" by the passing of his father Joe Jackson.
Michael Jackson in 2004
The Jackson family patriarch passed away at 3:30am on Wednesday (27.06.18) at the age of 89 following a battle with cancer, and the estate of his late son and musical icon Michael - who passed away in 2009 - has now released a statement expressing their grief at the news.
In a message penned by John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Estate of Michael Jackson, they said: "We are deeply saddened by Mr. Jackson's passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Katherine Jackson and the family. Joe was a strong man who acknowledged his own imperfections and heroically delivered his sons and daughters from the steel mills of Gary, Indiana to worldwide pop superstardom."
The pair went on to state they had "developed a warm relationship" with Joe over the years since the 'Thriller' hitmaker's passing, and said they will "miss him tremendously".
Their statement concluded: "Mr. Jackson's contributions to the history of music are enormous. They were acknowledged by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 in a proclamation naming him as Best Entertainment Manager of All Time; he was inducted into Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2014 and his son Michael acknowledged him with a Joe Jackson Day at Neverland. We had developed a warm relationship with Joe in recent years and will miss him tremendously."
The retired talent manager - who is best known for handling the careers of his kids, including Michael - had been in hospital for some time, with his wife Katherine and some of his children and grandchildren by his side, and his passing was not unexpected as it was revealed hours before his death that he was "too weak" to even return to his Las Vegas home to live out his final days.
A source said: "He had planned to go to his home in Vegas to live out his final days, but that has not happened. Joe is very weak and getting significantly weaker. It's now a waiting game, and the end could come at any time."
Joe, suffered from diabetes and was also believed to have a form of dementia, suffered a stroke in Brazil in 2015 which left him temporarily blind.
He was hospitalised in 2016 with a high fever after falling during a routine check-up.
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