'Modern Family' Fans Heartbroken after Death of Major Character in Latest Episode

Fans react to the death of one of Modern Family's family favorite characters as the show airs an emotional episode about appreciating the people around you.

The final season of "Modern Family" has taken many of its fans on a rollercoaster ride of plenty of highs, with the addition of the Dunphy family's first grandchildren.

However, the latest episode titled "Legacy," the family had to deal with the heartbreaking news of the death of Frank Dunphy, played by Fred Willard.

According to

, Willard has played the role of Ty Burrell's character, Phil Dunphy’s father for 14 episodes across 11 seasons of the show.

In 2010 he was recognized for his role and was nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series."

Fans expressed on social media how they considered Frank and Phil to be the ultimate father-son duo. So saying goodbye to one of show's most lovable characters had many fans emotional.

After the episode aired, many fans tweeted broken heart and crying emojis. One fan even expressed their "hurt" over the sad conclusion.

In the final scenes, Phil cut his father's hair, while they unknowingly had a heart to heart conversation. As it cut to him giving a touching eulogy, he said:

"We didn't do much that day, but it might have been one of the best days I've ever had with my dad. I just didn't know it would be the last. My dad was okay, and my takeaway from our day was, don't miss the chance to let the people you appreciate know that."

In his eulogy, Phil shared how, when he was growing up, Frank was the "cool dad" because he knew all the choreography from "Grease," and also knew the latest expressions like "TMI, BFF, and BJ: Blue Jeans."

While leaving some of the "Modern Family" fan's in tears with the emotional episode, he still managed to add in some humour at just the right time. One fan praised the show and was excited about the rest of the season.

It is reported, Sarah Hyland, who plays Haley Dunphy was just as surprised as the viewers over Frank's death as she shared her reaction on her Instagram story.

She admitted that she doesn't read scripts for episodes that she does not appear in, and was not aware of his departure. However, she felt it was special to watch the moment along with the show's fans.