In the wee hours on Tuesday, February 6, Toby Keith‘s family announced that the legendary singer had lost his battle with stomach cancer.
Their statement read, “Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on February 5, surrounded by his family. He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.”
Keith is survived by his wife of almost 40 years Tricia Covel, their three children, Shelley, Krystal, and Stelen, and several grandchildren.
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Despite his declining health, Keith performed and was giving interviews until the very end.
RELATED: Toby Keith Performs “Don’t Let The Old Man In” For The Last Time On Stage
He performed three sold-out shows in Las Vegas in December, marking the final time he sang live. Keith was also giving interviews in January. He stopped by The Bobby Bones Show on January 4th and opened up about how surgery has affected his vocals.
While that wasn’t his very last interview, it was one of them.
His last interview was with news anchor Rebecca Marsh of KWTV.
Titled ONE-ON-ONE WITH TOBY KEITH, aired on Wednesday, January 24 and Thursday, January 25 on two different local news stations in Oklahoma. The first sneak peek of the interview was posted by News9 on January 20, and it was of Keith speaking about how important his faith has been during his cancer battle.
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His faith has never wavered in this entire process, which made him “at peace” with his illness, as he said in this interview.
Marsh asked him, “Have you experienced a peace that passes all understanding?”
Without hesitating, the “Don’t Let The Old Man In” singer replied, “I just got to a point where I was comfortable with whatever happened. I had my brain wrapped around it and I was in a good spot either way. People without faith don’t have that.”
When asked how he perseveres through “dark hallways,” Keith replied, “Faith. You have to have your faith. Thank God that I got it too. You take it for granted on the days that things are good, and you lean on it when days are bad, and it’s taught me to lean on it a little more every day.”
He also stated, “Cancer is a roller coaster, so it’s like, you just sit here and wait on it to go away, and it may not ever go away.”
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News 9 reacted to Keith’s passing by posting a video montage of some moments throughout his career. They wrote, “We are devastated to hear about the passing of Oklahoma native and country music legend Toby Keith. Our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and all of his fans.”
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Watch the full 12-minute interview below.
Toby Keith was the founder of the Toby Keith Foundation. The foundation helps support the OK Kids Korral, which serves as a home-away-from-home for families with children undergoing cancer treatments. If you’d like to make a donation in Toby’s memory, you can visit the Toby Keith Foundation’s official website here.