Joe the Plumber, who questioned Obama's tax plans during 2008 campaign, dead at 49

Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher, who became known as "Joe the Plumber" after asking Barack Obama about his economic policies during the 2008 presidential campaign — and who later forayed into politics himself — has died, his son said Monday. He was 49.

His oldest son, Joey Wurzelbacher, said his father died Sunday in Wisconsin after a long illness. His family announced earlier this year on an online fundraising site that he had pancreatic cancer.

"The only thing I have to say is that he was a true patriot," the younger Wurzelbacher said of his father in a telephone interview. "His big thing is that everyone come to God. That's what he taught me, and that's a message I hope is heard by a lot of people."