Grief-stricken Patti Newton is seen for the first time since her husband Bert’s death aged 83

Patti Newton was seen for the first time since her husband Bert’s death aged 83 on Saturday.

The singer, 76, emerged from her Melbourne home on Sunday, just hours after the shock announcement that the TV personality passed away having suffered a long health battle which led to one of his legs being amputated.

Patti walked along the path out the front of her home as she spoke on the phone in the wake of her husband’s death.

She wore black jeans, a matching coloured top and boots as she held her phone in her hand. 

Hours later, Patti’s daughter Lauren and her two children was seen arriving to the family’s home to comfort her.

Lauren carried her young son Alby as she held her daughter’s hand and walked to their home after parking her car.

Joined by two of her granddaughters, Patti later spoke to reporters, saying she hoped her late husband ‘will be remembered for legend that he was.’

‘It’s very, very devastating. All our hearts are breaking because he was just the most wonderful man,’ said Patti.

‘I left [the clinic where Bert was in palliative care] at ten past seven, and I was just pulling around to come into my drive and I get the call to say he’d taken his last breath at 7.22pm. So I missed him, but maybe he didn’t want me to be there for his last breath,’ she added.

‘He had such a fabulous attitude. And he gave us so much joy right up to the end.’ 

Bert passed away on Saturday night having suffered a long health battle which led to one of his legs being amputated.

The four-time gold logie winner’s health first became a concern in 2012 when he underwent a quadruple bypass.

In the years following the surgery, he was hospitalised three times with pneumonia and was also diagnosed with anemia.

Bert was hospitalised in March and underwent surgery on his leg in May. He needed surgery after his toe became infected before Christmas.

The infection was ‘linked to his diabetes’ and was threatening his life with Doctor’s telling Mr Newton the surgery was a ‘life or death decision’.

Doctors reportedly told Bert that if he kept the leg then he would have just ‘months to live’ rather than years if he chose to amputate.

At the time of his surgery, Patti told the Daily Telegraph she had ‘never seen anybody in more pain’ than her husband on the morning of his operation.

She added: ‘I just felt he could not go through pain like he was going through for much longer.’

Patti, 76, also spoke of her husband’s fighting spirit, saying the grandfather of six agreed to the life-changing surgery because ‘he has so much to live for’.

‘He is lucky; he has got family all around him. The grandkids mean the world to him.’

At the time, journalist and long-time friend Peter Ford explained how Bert’s infection continued to spread no matter what doctors did.

‘[The infection] got worse… he was seeing doctors and specialists and they couldn’t seem to get it right; it kept on spreading,’ he said.

‘Basically he was told, ‘You have a couple of months to live, or if you have your leg amputated, you’ll probably have a few years.’ So he agreed to have the leg amputated on Saturday.’

Mr Ford said Bert and Patti were preparing for a major adjustment once he gets home from hospital.

‘It’s a big decision for anyone to make [to amputate], but it’s also a practical thing, because they live in a two-storey place with the bedrooms and the bathrooms upstairs, so they’re now having to convert the house downstairs because Patti doesn’t want him to go into a nursing home,’ he said.

Bert went into surgery at 7.50am on May 8 and Patti learned it had been a success at 3pm. ‘It was a long day and a long wait,’ she said.

At the time of his death he had been receiving palliative care at a clinic in Melbourne.

The TV personality is survived by his wife of 47 years Patti, his two children and six grandchildren.

Premier Daniel Andrews issued a statement following the news of his death, saying he will ‘live on in the memories of an entire generation’.

‘Bert Newton was an icon, a larrikin and a born entertainer. We have never known TV without Bert – he was there from the beginning. From black and white to colour – as TV changed, Bert endured,’ he said.

‘He lived his life on the silver screen — and we welcomed his wit and humour into our homes.’

‘As we reflect on his legacy in the coming days, we’ll all be reminded of his legendary partnerships with Graham Kennedy and Don Lane. For so many, those partnerships are as inseparable as they are memorable.’

‘He brought the Logies to life during TV’s golden era. And while TV was always his anchor, Bert was also a star on radio and the stage — performing in some of our most iconic musicals including Phantom of the Opera and the Rocky Horror Picture Show among others.’

‘But above all his achievements, he was a family man and his greatest partnership was with his wife of almost 50 years, Patti. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, their children and their grandchildren.’

‘We will all have an opportunity to honour his memory, his talent and his achievements at a state funeral – details will be shared in the coming days. Bert will live on in the memories of an entire generation. Gone, but never forgotten. Vale Bert Newton.’

Former Nine CEO Eddie McGuire told Weekend Today, a state funeral will be held to farewell the beloved television personality.

Premier Andrews will reportedly ring Bert’s widow Patti to make the offer of a state funeral.

Eddie said the service will most likely be held at Bert’s ‘beloved’ St Pat’s Cathedral in Melbourne.