Phil Robertson / Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Family members and politicians celebrated the life of the late Phil Robertson, a devoted Christian whose family-run hunting products business, Duck Commander, was the focus of the TV series Duck Dynasty.
Robertson passed away Sunday, leaving behind a legacy of faith in Christ that he said helped him overcome adversity and personal trauma. He was 79.
The Robertson family became household names in 2012 when they became the subject of the A&E television network’s “Duck Dynasty” reality series. The last episode aired in 2017.
Robertson, a Louisiana native, founded the televised hunting company more than 50 years ago in 1972. He had played college football at Louisiana Tech University and was a starting quarterback before Terry Bradshaw took over for him.
“I said, ‘Bradshaw, here’s the deal. You’re a big strong kid, you’ve got a strong arm, and you want to play in the [Natiinal Football League] NFL, and you want to play football,” Robertson recalled in an interview in 2021. “He said, ‘That’s right.’ I said, ‘I’m going after the ducks full time. I’d rather hunt ducks than have large, violent men stomp me in the dirt . . . You go for it, and I’ll see you later.’”
In 2020, Robertson was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as “an outdoorsman.”
That was seven years after he, in 2013, sparked controversy when making remarks in GQ magazine that some considered anti-gay. Robertson said God disapproves of the homosexual lifestyle and other activities described as sins in the Bible.
SPREADING GOSPEL
However, he clarified that he wanted to spread the love of Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, who offers salvation and eternal life. “We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus—whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ’em out later, you see what I’m saying?”
Following his remarks, A&E put him on “indefinite hiatus,” but after massive protests, he soon returned to the series about his hunting business.
Along with “Duck Dynasty,” Robertson also made the series “Duck Commander” for the Outdoor Channel, and his life was the subject of a 2023 movie, “The Blind: The True Story of the Robertson Family.”
Over the years, Robertson has been open about discovering faith in Christ Jesus in the mid-1970s, after turbulent years.
“Until I was 28, I didn’t have any faith,” Robertson told broadcaster Fox News in 2019. “Here I am Biblically speaking — God said I was under the control of the evil one. I didn’t know that. I was just getting high and drunk with the worst of them. … I had built a track record that was not a good one. I then realized, ‘What was I thinking? All that mischief and carrying on.’ … I came to know Jesus. I looked up one day, and I said, ‘Man, I’m driven to do this. I have to do it.’”
In his 2019 book “The Theft of America’s Soul,” he called for bringing religion back into American culture. Still, he admitted he had to hit rock bottom before he accepted Christ as his personal savior.
“At first, I’m trying to be good,” he explained. “I’m learning how to be good. My friends would come by, my old buddies, and they would say, ‘Let’s go for a ride. Drive up the road.’ I said, ‘Nah.’ My faith was being tested. … I just broke away from them. … I will say I got an unlisted phone number, and I hid out the first year while I was getting on my spiritual feet. That was 44 years ago. Well, the further I have gone on my walk of faith, the more faithful I have become.”
DNA TEST
There were some hiccups along the way: He revealed five years ago that he found out he had a 45-year-old daughter, Phyllis, of an affair following a DNA test.
Yet Robertson recalled that after his son told him the DNA was a match, he immediately said, “Bring her on down.”
“It’s a pretty cool explanation of redemption, reconciliation, love,” Robertson said on his “Unashamed” podcast at the time. “As it turns out, 45 years, you have a daughter that you don’t know about, and she has a father she doesn’t know about. Forty-five years that doesn’t sound like very long, but you say that’s a while. So finally, after all those years, we come together.”
Despite his self-declared personal
shortcomings, his relationship remained rock solid with Miss Kay, his high school sweetheart, who he married in 1966.
During their nearly 60 years of marriage, they had four sons, Alan, 60, Jase, 55, Willie, 53, and Jules, 46, as well as 16 grandchildren.
Until the end of his life, backed by his wife, he shared the Gospel and helped those who are often overlooked by the rich and famous.
“[My wife and I] go to them. The rehabs. The prisons. The downtrodden. The ones that no one would give a hoot about. The homeless,” he said. “When we meet together, we have food. We meet together on Sunday mornings. … People who sleep under bridges can come in. [And we] get them a good meal. … [It’s] all God’s children coming together.”
SERIOUS ILLNESS
Last December, his son Jase revealed on their “Unashamed” podcast that Phil was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. He said at the time that he also had some kind of blood disease that had yet to be diagnosed but was “causing all kinds of problems.”
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents the U.S. state of Louisiana, wrote that he was grateful for the “extraordinary legacy of one of Louisiana’s favorite sons,” saying that countless people had been impacted by his life and Christian ministry.
“I’m sorry to hear that Phil Robertson passed away,” Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on social platform X. “Many prayers for his family. He shared his faith journey in a movie called The Blind, which is one of the best.”
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote that he was a “living example of what God can do in all of our lives if we follow Him. He was a bright light for the world to see. Bryan and I are praying for the whole Robertson crew tonight.”
His son Willie shared a tribute on the social media platform Instagram, writing in part: “He taught me many things in life and most without ever saying a word. I watched him and knew he had figured out so many things,” he wrote.
“Most importantly, he taught me the value of sharing my faith with others. He was the Real Deal, the same on Sundays as Fridays. Most of our conversations were not about hunting or business but about sharing the Gospel.”
He said the last words his father told him before he died was: “You’re my brother.”
CELEBRATING LIFE
“It made total sense to me. He always told me we were coworkers in the Kingdom of God,” Willie wrote. “Maybe that’s why I always just called him Phil … Sleep well Dad, can’t wait to see you.”
In a statement, the Robertson family said, “We celebrate today that our father, husband, and grandfather, Phil Robertson, is now with the Lord. He reminded us often of the words of [Apostle] Paul: ‘You do not grieve like those who have no hope,’” they wrote.
“For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
They added “Thank you for the love and prayers of so many whose lives have been impacted by his life saved by grace, by his bold faith, and by his desire to tell everyone who would listen the Good News of Jesus. We are grateful for his life on earth and will continue the legacy of love for God and love for others until we see him again.”
The family referred to Bible verse 1 Corinthians 2: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
The post US Christian Hunter Phil Robertson ‘With Lord At 79’; Americans Celebrate His Life appeared first on Worthy Christian News.
