WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Timothy Joseph Russert Sr. , the father of the late Tim Russert of NBC 's `` Meet the Press , '' died from natural causes Thursday , according to his family . He was 85 . The elder Russert was the subject of his son 's 2004 book `` Big Russ and Me . '' The New York Times bestseller captured the lessons passed down from father to son . `` While he was affectionately known to the world as 'Big Russ , ' he carried no more important nor meaningful titles than those of father , grandfather , great-grandfather , patriot and friend , '' the family said in a statement . The younger Russert , who became one of the mainstays of television journalism 's political talk as the host of `` Meet the Press , '' died from a heart attack in June 2008 at age 58 .
Timothy Joseph Russert Sr. was the father of the late journalist Tim Russert . He was also the subject of his son 's 2004 bestseller , `` Big Russ and Me '' His son was the host of `` Meet the Press '' and died from a heart attack last year .