At around 2 am on June 17th, Walter Parazaider, frontman and saxophonist of the famed jazz-rock band Chicago, passed away. The legendary frontman has opened up about his six-year battle with Alzheimer's disease, which he eventually lost late at night at 81 years old.

As reported by TMZ, his wife, JacLynn, was by the musician's side as he lay on his deathbed at hospice care. Earlier this morning, his daughter, Felicia Helen Parazaider, went to Facebook to confirm her father's passing. She writes,

“My father, my hero, is gone. There’s no more pain. No more struggle. … This was the worst six years.
The hardest season of my life. And I’m so grateful that my dad is not suffering anymore. I love you poppy, my Pal.

Walter Parazaider founded Chicago in 1967, along with longtime friends Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, and Danny Seraphine. They've since gone on to chart five No.1 albums on the Billboard 200, in addition to three top-charting singles: "If You Leave Me Now," "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," and "Look Away."

After the band was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, Parazaider formally announced his retirement two years later and opened up about his diagnosis in 2021.

May he rest in peace.