Ryan Seacrest‘s family is in mourning.

The radio and TV personality announced the death of his father, Gary Seacrest, at 79 on social media, Friday, Oct. 31. Ryan previously shared that Gary had been diagnosed with prostate cancer several years ago.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that my loving father peacefully passed away earlier this week,” said Ryan on Instagram. “My mom, sister and I have peace knowing he is in a better place and free of any pain or suffering. We are heartbroken.”

Ryan, 50, called Gary a “devoted husband for 56 years, an incredible Papa to Flora, and my best friend.”

“Dad you will live in our hearts forever. I love you,” Ryan wrote.

Alongside the heartfelt tribute, Ryan shared several photos of himself and his father together and with their family. Ryan has one sister, Meredith Seacrest Leach.

Ryan’s foundation, the Ryan Foundation, also remembered Gary on Instagram, Friday. “Together with his wife Connie and their children Meredith and Ryan, Gary helped found the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. He took immense pride in the joy and inspiration it brings to children and families during some of their toughest times, and his warmth, kindness, and unwavering support helped shape who we are today,” the caption read.

Over the summer, Ryan got emotional as he discussed his father’s experiences with cancer,  during a July broadcast of On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

Back in a 2021 Instagram post, Ryan said that his father had been “battling cancer for several years” — but at the time, they thought it was “no longer detectable.” Unfortunately, as Ryan revealed during the July broadcast, Gary’s cancer was not gone and only got “worse.”

At one point, Gary contracted pneumonia while undergoing chemotherapy, Ryan revealed. The illness left Gary in the ICU for weeks.

“When you see a parent suffering and when you see them going through this and you don’t understand it yourself, you’re just listening to all the different doctors and trying to make sense of what they’re trying to suggest and do,” Ryan said. “I didn’t want to miss trying to understand who these people were that were taking care of my father.”

Ryan’s mother Connie Seacrest is in remission from cancer, he said at the time. The disease “affects every one of us in some way, and it. And it sucks,” Seacrest said during the July radio conversation. “And the treatments suck … treatments are tough.”