Lucy Hale (37) is mourning her father. Preston Hale died unexpectedly last Friday, the "Pretty Little Liars" star announced on Monday on Instagram. Accompanying the detailed obituary, she posted several photos showing father and daughter together over the years. She could hardly believe she was writing these lines, Lucy Hale began her post. Her father had died suddenly.
A Southerner with a passion for fishing
In the text, the actress and singer paints the portrait of a man who remains in her memory primarily through humor and warmth. He was incredibly funny, sensitive, and infinitely kind, she wrote. He loved his family, his grandchildren, the dogs, his longtime friends, and his wife Stacy, Hale's stepmother, whom she describes as the love of his life.
Preston Hale was proud of his work in agriculture and of his hometown of Milan in the state of Tennessee. A true Southerner, his daughter writes, with a passion for fishing, hunting, and golfing. What she will miss: buying him gift cards for the fishing store.
Their relationship had changed over the years, the actress notes, but the deep connection remained. Her father had loved her and her sister unconditionally and never judged them. The last moments together also remain in good memories. "Our last phase of conversation was beautiful. The last time I saw him was beautiful. Our last call was perfect."
Sisterly support
Hale describes in detail the moment when the news reached her. Her older sister Maggie happened to be visiting Los Angeles, which rarely happens, when the call came. She was sitting less than ten feet away. "That is something only God and my father could orchestrate." She cannot imagine receiving that call alone and getting through the first surreal days alone. Her father had known she would need her sister. She thanks him for that.
"Exactly the right father"
She currently finds comfort in her spirituality and faith. Her father is not gone, he has just taken a different form, Hale is convinced. She will look for him everywhere and is certain that he will stay with the family, surprise them again and again, send small signs, and somehow still make them laugh.
The actress ended her obituary with a direct address to her father. "You are a legend, Dad", she writes, thanking him for the lessons, the memories, and the unconditional love. "I know that my father in this life was exactly the right father for me. I will love you in this life and in all the others."
