Loretta Lynn’s Family Shares Sweet Message on Late Icon’s 91st Birthday
Loretta Lynn would have turned 91 on Friday (April 14), and those close to the singer shared a touching tribute to commemorate the day.
On her birthday, a post presumably written by the singer's family appeared on Lynn's social media pages. The tribute features photos of the iconic country superstar from different phases of her life, as well as a touching message about experiencing her first birthday without her.
"In our hearts, April 14th is the best day of the year. It’s the day she was born," the post reads. "Little did Ted and Clara Webb, deep in Butcher Holler, Ky., know that their new daughter would become the world’s most awarded woman in the history of country music. We can’t imagine a day on the calendar doing anything better than giving us Loretta Lynn."
The post continues, calling this — the first birthday without the country legend — "surreal," as her loved ones look back on being with her in 2022. Lynn died on Oct. 4, 2022.
"One year ago today we gathered up in her living room for her 90th. We ate, we laughed, and we sang. She always sang," reads the post. "It was a perfect day because she was here and we were with her."
"Today, we won’t circle up at her house and gather around her," the message continues. "We won’t spend the day watching the flowers flow in and the phone ring like crazy with best wishes. We won’t argue with her about her real age! Instead, we will hold her a little closer in our hearts, we will sing a song that makes us think of her, we will probably cry a little for this additional reminder reinforcing to us the painful reality we can still hardly believe. And we will smile—thanking God for the little girl from the holler and the spring day that brought her to us," the post concludes."
Lynn's granddaughter, Emmy Russell, honored her grandmother at her Grand Ole Opry debut on Thursday night (April 13) by performing a song called "Meemaw's Guitar" with Lynn's famous "Loretta Lynn" guitar. Another of Lynn's granddaughters, Tayla Lynn, also shared a post for Lynn's "first birthday in Heaven."
"What a glorious day it must be there," she wrote.
Lynn is survived by her sister, Crystal Gayle, children Peggy, Patsy, Ernest and Cissy and other family members.