Robert Downey Jr. mourns the death of his mother, Elsie, expressing himself in a heartfelt post he has written on his Facebook page on Friday.

Last Monday, Downey Jr.'s mother, Elsie, passed away at the age of 80. Following her death, the 'Iron Man' star wrote a post on Facebook, expressing his sorrow over his loss. In the post, Downey Jr. wrote details about Elsie's life, saying that she has battled alcoholism in the 1970s, but later got sober and inspired Downey Jr. to turn away from his own drug addiction.

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Downey Jr. said his mother had been suffering from heart problems and some other health issues this year, had a cardiac arrest last March and had to be placed on life support.

The Oscar nominee shared in his letter that after filming the sequel to 'The Avengers', he went straight to see his mother. "To my amazement, she was completely lucid, interactive, mugging [+] pulling faces. We couldn't speak 'cause she had a tracheal tube", the actor wrote.

During the time that his mother was in the hospital, the actor wrote that he wondered if there was a possibility that she can beat the odds again. Elsie had suffered yet another series of seizures and was then brought home from the hospital.

The actor also expressed his fondness toward his mother, saying, "Many fond memories of her in the last few years - holidays, kid-stuff, her strutting around with a walking stick."

Downey Jr. said his mother served as his role model as an actor, and also admired her for staying sober despite her past struggles.

Downey Jr.'s mother died at 11:00 PM on September 22 and is survived by her partner of 37 years, Jonas Kerr.

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