Popular YouTuber Paul Harrell has died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 58 after sharing the news of his own death in a poignant video posted "from beyond the grave." "If you're watching me, I'm dead," the Oregon-based content creator told his 1.14 million subscribers in a video titled "I'm Dead."
The six-minute video was recorded in December 2023, and his family released it after his death on Tuesday. Gun rights activist Harrell delivered the heartbreaking news while seated on a log in the forest, the same place where he had first shared with his subscribers about his Stage 2 pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
Message from Beyond the Grave
Harrell had previously assured fans that his cancer had been "caught early" and that he would "be around for some time." However, in his posthumous video, he detailed how his health had significantly declined.
"We did catch it early but not as early as I had thought," he told fans. "It has spread faster than I thought it would. My time is drawing very short."
Harrell had been using crutches due to a fractured hip, an injury he revealed was caused by his cancer spreading to his bones, leading them to 'crumble.'
The YouTuber also expressed his "sincere apologies" to fans who would be distressed by his unexpected passing.
"I had hoped that I would continue in this format for the next 10 or even 15 years," he said.
"Even once I was diagnosed I'd hoped that we'd be here for at least two or three more years and that's turned out to be only a few more months.
"My apologies for that. It makes me feel like I've let everybody down."
Tributes Pour In
Fans filled the comments section with heartfelt tributes and expressions of gratitude for the firearms expert. |Even beyond the grave, the sense of humor is dark but appropriate," one fan wrote. "We'll miss you Paul."
"This is the worst notification I've ever gotten," one heartbroken supporter wrote. "RIP Paul."
"Paul Harrell is the only man humble enough to apologize for dying, the world won't be the same without him," another person wrote.
Harrell mentioned that his brother and the production team would carry on creating videos in his honor.
The video concluded with a message from his editor and manager, Brad Nelson.
"I had the great privilege of having Paul in my life and having him as a friend," Nelson told viewers.
"He is very generous and a kind guy and he told the best campfire stories."
Harrell used his channel to champion gun owners' rights while sharing expertise on gun safety and precise shooting.
