"Duck Dynasty" Willie Robertson on Phil’s request before death and Mama Kay’s health

The Robertson family of “Duck Dynasty” fame continues to mourn the loss of their patriarch Phil Robertson after he died on May 25 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Willie and Korie Robertson reveal how they are moving forward as a family in his absence.

“He told us all, do not cry. I'm so happy about where I'm going and where I'm heading,” Phil’s son Willie told our Courtney Tezeno at a press junket for the show’s sequel series.

Willie continued, “That gave us real joy to see what kind of faith he had, and didn't lose that, or didn't turn away at all.”

Phil died days before the family’s season premiere of “Duck Dynasty: The Revival.” Willie tells us Phil's widow, Mama Kay, took her husband’s death the hardest. She also suffers from dementia, and his passing caused her health to decline.

“I think she really struggled with it just more than probably we even realized. Losing her partner, for probably 60 years she's been with dad, and I think it was probably some depression there that she went through. As well as some struggles of her own with her health.”

So how is she doing now?

“Mama Kay is doing good today,” Willie said during our July 24 interview. “She has been so up and down. It's been crazy.”

He says “Miss Kay” has good days and bad days, and while her memory fades often, “she's still funny and spicy.” Korie joked that some days her mother-in-law “gives Willie a hard time” for not coming to visit her, but she couldn’t remember that he had stopped by the day before.

“It's bad. It's so terrible to watch them go down,” Willie said about watching his late dad’s health decline alongside his mother. “The only positive that you can take from that is you do get yourself mentally prepared and spiritually prepared, because you know kind of what's coming.”

The Robertsons bare it all on the show, from duck hunting to private family health issues, and they want others in the caregiving stage of life to remember “it's hard to have a playbook,” but count your blessings.

Willie admits he found it challenging to have both parents’ health declining from dementia at the same time.

“Mom was a little bit more physical...and then dad was more mental,” he said. “So, between both of them, it was hard. Dad could still walk. But then Mom was struggling to get around. And so that’s tough.”

One thing Willie holds on to as he copes with his dad’s death is a scripture Phil “ingrained in [his] memory” from 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

“It's long. It's like 60 verses, but the end of it, it says, Where on death is your victory?” he said. “Then it says this is the power to overcome death as we know it on this earth is to go into something else.”

Korie chimed in, sharing her perspective on the reality TV family’s loss, saying she is in awe of how everyone “comes together to help” take care of Mama Kay.

The family is still in the duck hunting business at Duck Commander and hopes their kids and their spouses will successfully carry on the legacy.

“Phil's motto was faith, family, ducks, and he used to say in that order,” Korie said.” “The legacy of Phil is, first of all, faith, and all our kids are living that.”

“Duck Dynasty: The Revival” airs on A&E.