Country Star Kris Kristofferson Dead at 88 Years Old

Country star Kris Kristofferson has died at 88 years old.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home. We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all," his family told a news outlet in a statement on Sunday, September 29.

The Texas native has dealt with some health woes over the years, including how his long-diagnosed Alzheimer’s turned out to be Lyme Disease .

"About 12 years ago he was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, which looking back, should have been the first indication that a test for Lyme was warranted. But we suspect he’s been infected with Lyme anywhere from fourteen to thirty years because he used to have these chronic muscle spasms, which is a common symptom. We were in LA at the time, in Malibu, and I just don’t think doctors were looking for it or aware of it there then. But now we know it’s everywhere. There are signs on my local playground that say beware of ticks," the star's wife, Lisa Meyers , previously said in an interview.

According to Meyers, Kristofferson "could always remember songs" since "music [was] deeply embedded in the brain."

"The first thing I noticed was that he lost his keen sense of smell. The next thing I noticed was his spatial awareness was off. Like, if he would come out of the men’s room in the airport, he would start looking around and having no idea where to go. I had to watch him constantly, it was very consistent with Alzheimer’s. And he would do these mini-mental status tests where they have you remember certain presidents and things like that, and he was consistently failing them," she explained.

"He still has spatial awareness issues and short-term memory loss. He sometimes even forgets he has Lyme ! He shook the hand of a lady the other day and she told him she had Lyme and he said, 'Oh! Is it contagious?' So, he really lives in the present and he feels good. We walked two miles yesterday," she previously shared. "His physical health is incredibly good. All his symptoms of fibromyalgia, sleep apnea and twitching are now gone with the Lyme treatment. He has stayed off the two Alzheimer’s drugs and the antidepressant he was taking for the fibromyalgia. He is continuing to do treatment as needed. When I look back, his symptoms really should’ve caused his doctors to test him for Lyme and they missed it. Most doctors are just not looking for it.It’s a balance trying to work with all these doctors and telling them that even if they don’t all agree, we have to keep Kris’s best interest and we have to acknowledge he is getting better with Lyme treatment. His internist does not trust the Lyme tests and doesn’t want him doing more antibiotics."

Kristofferson announced his retirement from music in 2021.

"Kristofferson is the artist that every artist strives to be," MHM president and partner Clint Higham wrote in a statement at the time. "He is an artist's artist. If Mount Rushmore had a place for songwriters, Kris would be on it."

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People obtained the statement.