No funeral will be held for Fred Phelps, Sr., the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, who died shortly before midnight late Wednesday.
The 84-year-old former leader of the controversial church, who was excommunicated in August 2013, died at a hospice in Topeka, Kan., shortly after his estranged son Nathan Phelps announced his father was "on the edge of death".
While the family offered no explanation for why there would be no funeral, his former church, known for its anti-gay protests at military funerals, tweeted out a statement giving "thanks [to] God for Fred Phelps Sr.'s passing."
"God forbid, if every little soul at the Westboro Baptist Church were to die at this instant, or to turn from serving the true and living God, it would not change one thing about the judgments of God that await this deeply corrupted nation and world. That is the pinnacle of your hopes, and by far the most vain. Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, or the power of God."
Westboro Baptist Church thanks God for Fred Phelps Sr.’s passing: http://t.co/5GJU1lXuZj pic.twitter.com/lDx0CyEink
Advertisement— Westboro Baptist (@WBCSays) March 20, 2014"One way or another, he's at peace. There's only Heaven or peaceful nothingness. That's what I think." RIP, Gramps. I love you forever.
— Megan Phelps-Roper (@meganphelps) March 20, 2014I'm so sorry for the harm he caused. That we all caused. But he could be so kind and wonderful. I wish you all could have seen that, too.
— Megan Phelps-Roper (@meganphelps) March 20, 2014I understand those who don't mourn his loss, but I'm thankful for those who see that "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."
— Megan Phelps-Roper (@meganphelps) March 20, 2014Love and peace to all. The world needs more of both. That's the part of Gramps I'll keep and share with others.
— Megan Phelps-Roper (@meganphelps) March 20, 2014[WIBW]
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