A founding member of the band Grateful Dead, guitarist Bob Weir, has died at the age of 78.
In 2024, The Grateful Dead were among the honorees in President Joe Biden’s final Kennedy Center Honors.
His family posted a statement about his passing on Instagram.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.”
“For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.”
“Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life. Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.”
“There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’.”
“His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance. May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.”
Of the original founding members of the band, Ron McKernan died in 1973, Jerry Garcia in 1995, and Phil Lesh in 2024.
The Garcia family shared, “It is with profound sorrow and eternal gratitude that we wish a grand farewell to our dear friend Robert Weir. Bob was always full of restless hope and a burning desire to do good in this world. He once said that his success was due to the ever-present sense of adventure that was the very heart of his music and that the hearts of his audience resonated with the same rhythms. His adventure will continue on with all those he inspired over his incredible life. We know the big reunion on the other side will be felt as a surge of joy in the cosmos. And we hope everyone joins us in a big wolf howl farewell for our @BobWeir. Thank you for the amazing ride.”
“Sincere condolences to Bob’s beautiful wife Natascha and his lovely daughters, Chloe and Monet. We love you so much and are pleased to have grown close over the years despite life on the road. We honor this cosmic entanglement within the band and all of those around us; we love you.”
“Love and joy to everyone, The Garcia Family”
It is with profound sorrow and eternal gratitude that we wish a grand farewell to our dear friend Robert Weir. Bob was always full of restless hope and a burning desire to do good in this world. He once said that his success was due to the ever-present sense of adventure that… pic.twitter.com/zup79WcReF
— Jerry Garcia (@jerrygarcia) January 11, 2026
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