Aretha Franklin dies surrounded by loved ones at age 76

By Devin Culham

Aug 16, 2018 at 10:25 am

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Aretha Franklin dies surrounded by loved ones at age 76

JStone / Shutterstock

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin died Thursday evening surrounded by family and friends.

The "Respect" singer had been "gravely ill" for some time, and was under hospice care after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to TMZ.

The long-time Detroit resident and pop culture icon passed at the age of 76, survived by her 4 sons. She gave her final Detroit performance in June of 2017 at Detroit Music Weekend when a stretch of Madison Street was rechristened as Aretha Franklin Way.

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