Ken Spears, who co-created the animated series Scooby-Doo, died on Friday from complications related to Lewy body dementia. He was 82.

"Ken will forever be remembered for his wit, his story-telling, his loyalty to family, and his strong work ethic," Spears' son, Kevin Spears told Variety. "Ken has not only made a lasting impression on his family, but he has touched the lives of many as co-creator of Scooby-Doo. Ken has been a role model for us throughout his life and he will continue to live on in our hearts."

Spears -- full name Charles Kenneth Spears -- was born on March 12, 1938, in Los Angeles, CA. It was in Los Angeles that he began his career as a sound editor at Hanna-Barbara Productions. In 1959 he met Joe Ruby, with whom he would create cartoons like Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder and Jabberjaw. They would write together for many years on a variety of animated and live-action television series. The work that Spears and Ruby did on Scooby-Doo would later influence the creation of other teen-centric cartoons like Josie and the Pussycats and The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.

The two writing partners would later be hired by CBS in 1970 to supervise the Saturday morning cartoons lineup before going on create their own studio, Ruby-Spears productions. There, they produced shows like Superman, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Thundarr the Barbarian and many more. Ruby also died earlier this year on Aug. 26 at the age of 87.

Since the animated series first aired in 1969, Scooby-Doo went on to become an all-out entertainment empire, growing from the beloved Saturday morning cartoon to live-action movies, television shows, animated movies, comic books, lunch boxes and so on.

Spears is survived by his two sons, Kevin and Chris, his five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Source: Variety