Shirley Phelps-Roper

(Newser) - Just days after his estranged son revealed he was "on the edge of death," Fred Phelps has died. The death of the 84-year-old founder of the Westboro Baptist Church occurred shortly before midnight, son Timothy Phelps tells WIBW . Daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper confirmed that Phelps died yesterday at Midland...

(Newser) - News surfaced over the weekend that Fred Phelps, the 86-year-old founder of the notorious anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church , was not only near death but had been excommunicated from his own church. Why the latter? It's still not entirely clear, but the Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the excommunication came after...