This day in history: Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, dies at the age of 76 in 2018
(CBS DETROIT) - On this day in 2018, Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, died at the age of 76 at her home in Detroit.
According to a statement released by her family, Franklin died from advanced pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type.
"In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart," the family said in the statement. "We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds."
Minutes after the family released the statement, many high-profile individuals, including politicians, musicians, actors and more, paid tribute to the Queen of Soul.
Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace. pic.twitter.com/bfASqKlLc5
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 16, 2018
Former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump (who was president at the time) both posted on social media after the announcement.
The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is dead. She was a great woman, with a wonderful gift from God, her voice. She will be missed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018
Franklin made headlines recently in July, five years after her death, as a trial was held to determine which of her two handwritten wills, including one found in a couch cushion, would decide how her estate gets handled.
While Franklin didn't have a formal will in place, Michigan law allows other documents to be treated as such.
One son believed a 2010 paper should control the estate, while two other sons thought they should use a paper that was dated in 2014. Both pieces of paper were found in the singer's home.
The jury decided the 2014 paper was a valid will. For more information on that, visit here.