Loretta Lynn's Family Pen Heartbreaking Birthday To Late Singer
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Americana Music

Loretta Lynn's Family Pens Heartbreaking Birthday Tribute To Late Singer: "You Have Left Huge Shoes Behind"

Loretta Lynn may be gone, but the singer's legacy is firm and strong in country music. While the icon's death may have been tough for fans, it was especially hard for her family.

Lynn was born on April 14, and in honor of her birthday, her daughter-in-law Crystal penned a heartbreak tribute to the late icon. She said that the family is still very much grieving Lynn's death, and the grief hasn't gotten any easier with time. Lynn's birthday is especially difficult.

She wrote, "I've often thought of how today would affect me, affect my husband, affect our family....Will we be more sad, more happy, etc...? The truth is, it hurts the same every day. We've lost someone that we love more than words can describe.I think grief is a measure of how much someone is/was loved, and I'm not so sure that the grief doesn't grow each day as opposed to diminish."

However, rather than focus on sadness, Crystal chose to share some of the positive things that Lynn brought to this world. It's a legacy that stretches beyond just music.

She said, "That being said, the CHOICE I have made is to. Each day, look for the positives that she's left behind....
The CHOICE I have made today is to CELEBRATE HER. ?? She was one of the most beautiful creatures to ever grace this Earth....an angel walking amongst us....not because of her voice or her music....but because of her beautiful heart and soul. A true gift to the world, given by our God above."

Loretta Lynn Remembered

She continued, "So today, I declare, will be a happy one. Because I know that I will think of her every moment of what would've been her 92nd birthday. I love you Loretta.... Today and every day....With all of my heart and soul....You have left huge shoes behind that I will try my hardest to fill every single day."
It's the second birthday the family has experienced since Lynn's passing. Last October, the family decided to share a memorial to Lynn on her official account

"She was overjoyed, we were broken," her family wrote of her passing. "She had warned us just days before that the angels were coming, but we dismissed it."

They continued, "At 90, we knew the moment was inevitable. We had watched her age and her health decline. The stroke, the fall, then the pandemic that isolated everyone had all taken their toll," they went on. "Yet, in the midst of it all she fought through, overcame odds. Kept recording hit albums, wrote books, gave us advice, made us laugh, and kept us together."