Suzanne Somers' husband and son pay tribute to late star: 'She took the world by storm'
Suzanne Somers' family is paying tribute to the late "legend."
The Three's Company and Step By Step star died one day before her 77th birthday, on Oct. 15, at the age of 76. On Monday, her son, Bruce Somers Jr., commemorated her special day on Instagram by sharing a photo of her giving him a kiss on the cheek while the pair enjoyed a meal together.
"She soared higher than most can dream," he wrote. "She protected those who didn't have a voice. She asked the questions most didn't know to ask. She shared her challenges and brought light to solutions. To so many she was a brave warrior who articulated their fears. She wasn't fearless, but she faced them so we could learn. She was a friend, a wife, a sister, a daughter, an entertainer, an icon, and a legend. But to me, she was just Mom."
Bruce, who is Somers' only child, described what a "privilege" it was to call her mom.
"Growing up, it was us against the world. And then she took the world by storm," he recalled. "It's always too soon, no matter how prepared we may be. But she will live through me as she taught me to be kind, to be present, to love and be loved, to care, to express, and to always speak from the heart… because THAT is the voice of God."
Somers' 57-year-old son explained that he continues to feel his mother's presence in his life after her death. "Mom, you left me with all the tools, though I'll still need your guiding spirit around me. I feel you and know you are there," he wrote. "But I will miss your sweet hand and caring eyes that would look deep into my soul for verification that everything was okay. Thank you for being the best mother any son could ever dream of. I miss you already. Call me greedy, but 57 years wasn't enough."
Bruce acknowledged that he "received more love than I could ever imagine" during their time together.
SGranitz/WireImage Suzanne Somers and her son, Bruce Somers Jr.
"I love you so dearly," he wrote. "Happy Birthday on what would have been your 77th birthday. Please gorge on all the birthday cake you want while you make all the other angels sing, dance, laugh, and cry. Today, Heaven is lucky."
Somers' husband, Alan Hamel, also honored the late actress, speaking about her final moments on Tuesday's episode of Today. "I was grateful that I was with her when she left us," he said. "And it was very peaceful and it was beautiful. And she was beautiful. And we had the whole family come, and they've been here ever since. And we've been very upbeat about what's going on. There hasn't been a grim moment. Every time I feel it coming on, I leave the room so I can be alone. But that's life. I don't know what else to do."
Hamel said Somers was "was doing okay" before her death but that the family had been aware of the circumstances surrounding her health in her final weeks. "We had conversations," he said. "We faced reality, like who knows what's going to happen down the road."
Still, Hamel said, "We had talked about this day coming, and we thought it was going to be me because I'm 10 years older. If that happened she would be alone, which was a terrible conundrum, the idea of her being alone."
Hamel, who will preserve Somers' legacy by running her online marketplace, had nothing but love to share for his wife of 46 years. "She was an amazing, amazing woman," he said. "Aside from all her accomplishments, she was an amazing wife and an amazing mother as well. She's the one who pulled our family together. I didn't do it. She did it. She really knew what she was doing. So I will miss her."
Somers' family joins a wave of friends who have paid tribute to her in recent days, including her Step By Step costar Patrick Duffy, who remembered her as a "dear and deep friend." Joyce DeWitt, who starred opposite Somers in Three's Company, said her "heart goes out to Suzanne's family," whom she described as a "deeply connected and caring one."
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