Joe Jackson has passed away. TMZ reports that the patriarch of the Jackson family has died at the age of 89 after a battle with cancer. According to TMZ, Jackson passed at at 3:30 AM in Los Angeles, just two days after the ninth anniversary of the death of his son, Michael Jackson.
Last week, Joe had been hospitalized with terminal cancer, and since then has been surrounded by his family including his wife Katherine Scruse, and some of his children and grandchildren. Over the last several years, Joe has suffered a number of health issues including a 2016 hospitalization for a high fever, and a stroke and three heart attacks in 2015, after which he received a pacemaker.
On June 21st, Joe's son Jermaine shared with the Daily Mail of his condition, "He's very, very frail, he doesn't have long. The family needs to be by his bedside — that’s our only intention in his final days."
On June 24th, a tweet was sent out from a verified Joe Jackson Twitter accountthat said, "I have seen more sunsets than I have left to see. The sun rises when the time comes and whether you like it or not the sun sets when the time comes." However, Joe's granddaughter, Paris Jackson, took to the social media platform to inform fans that he did note write it. She shared, "This is a beautiful tweet. Though it upsets me to see whoever is in charge of this account taking advantage of it. My grandfather did not tweet this. I’m not sure if he’s ever used this account."
Paris also wrote of her family, "Blessed to have a family that comes together the way the Jacksons do."
Joe leaves behind his wife and their 11 children, including Janet Jackson, and multiple grandchildren. With some help from Diana Ross, managed the careers of The Jackson 5, then Michael and Janet during their solo careers.