Chad Gilbert has passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 45 years old.
The guitarist and one of the founders of the rock outfit New Found Glory died on Sunday, September 20, as confirmed by his bandmates and his wife, Lisa Cimorelli.
The musician, who had been undergoing cancer treatment since 2021, had only just made a return to performing about three months earlier after undergoing an emergency brain surgery.
“In the early hours of September 20th, Chad Everett Gilbert died peacefully in his sleep,” the post on social media read.
“He departed this life with loved ones around him, drawing his last breath with his wife and mother at his side, as he had wished.”
“We are stunned and heartbroken by how swiftly he passed, yet grateful for the calm and seamless farewell. The flood of visitors filling the hospital lobby at short notice testified to how deeply Chad was loved and will always be cherished.”
“While he was a legendary musician, his proudest achievement was being a husband and father. His biggest dreams had come true.”
New Found Glory, featuring vocalist Jordan Pundik, bass guitarist Ian Grushka and drummer Cyrus Bolooki, also issued a statement about his contributions to the band, which he co-founded in Florida in 1997.
“Chad’s guitar work, songwriting, sense of humor, and relentless drive helped shape New Found Glory for nearly three decades,” the Sticks and Stones rockers wrote.
“Across more than a dozen records, countless worldwide tours, and more accolades than we could have imagined, Chad pushed all of us to grow as musicians, performers, and people.”
Gilbert had been fighting metastatic pheochromocytoma, a rare adrenal cancer, since 2021, and earlier this year required emergency brain surgery in February after collapsing at his home.
