Fox News’ founder and former Chairman Roger Ailes passed away on Thursday at the age ofd 77. Though he had left the network under negative terms, his death hit many Fox News personalities hard. However, nobody was hit harder than Sean Hannity…

“Today America lost one of its great patriotic warriors. Roger Ailes. For decades [Roger Ailes] has impacted American politics and media,” Hannity wrote, according to Variety. “He has dramatically and forever changed the political and the media landscape singlehandedly for the better. Neither will ever be the same again as he was a true American original. Few people in this life will ever reach the profound level of impact that Roger Ailes had on the country every single day. As his opponents played checkers in life, Roger was always the strategist, playing chess, [five] steps ahead at a whole other level.”

Hannity continued:

“On a personal note, were it not for Roger Ailes, I would not be the person I am today. In 1996 he took a huge risk on an inexperienced, young, local radio talk show host in Atlanta. To this day I have no earthly idea why I was hired and not fired early on, as I had little television experience when I was hired by FNC, as old tapes humbly remind me. He saw something in me and many others he hired that we never saw in ourselves, and he forever changed the trajectory of thousands of peoples lives. In many ways he was like a second father after I lost my father 6 months after I started at FNC in 3/97. I am forever grateful. His endless enthusiasm, energy, wit, humor and raw instinctive intelligence will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers now turn to him, his wife Beth, his son Zachary, his brother and his family. He will be deeply missed.”

Please send prayers to Hannity as he mourns his mentor’s death!