He was described as a rare talent with a voice far beyond the ordinary — and he captured hearts when he appeared on The Voice UK.Now, singer-songwriter Dean Franklin has died at just 36 years old, only weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 oesophageal cancer.Fought courageouslyThe London performer passed away on Saturday, Feb. 7. His mother, Marie, confirmed the heartbreaking news in a Facebook post the following day, sharing a photo of her son in a hospital bed.“As a family, we are truly heartbroken to announce that our precious boy, Dean Franklin who fought so courageously over 8 weeks and 3 days passed over at 21.39pm last night,” she wrote on Feb. 8. “He was surrounded by love.”

She added, “I have been getting MSG’s from people this morning and wanted as his ma to manifest my son’s courage to share with you all. As a family, we will post in more length when we are able.”“Until then, please know that the love you gave to our Dean and all of us has meant so very much,” Marie concluded.Franklin first revealed his diagnosis in December through an emotional Instagram video. In the weeks that followed, the father of one continued to share updates about his condition, with his final post appearing on Jan. 30.“Over the last few weeks, my life has changed very fast,” he told followers. “What started as esophageal cancer ended up spreading aggressively to my liver and weirdly, I had almost no symptoms from the oesophagus itself.”