Toby Keith’s Son And Daughter Share Adoring Tributes To “Hero” Dad

“I love you, cowboy.”

Toby Keith’s children have joined the chorus of heartbreak surrounding the country star’s death.

A few days after Keith died Monday, daughter Krystal and son Stelen took to social media to express their sorrow as well as their gratitude for having been able to share him with so many.

“I am shattered. As great as he was in his career, he was so much greater as a dad and a husband and a Pop Pop. He was my hero,” Krystal, 38, wrote alongside an Instagram carousel of photos of her and Keith together over the years. “I am so lucky to have had him and so grateful he got to walk me down the aisle and meet my babies. That I have years of memories traveling the world as a family. I am blessed that I got to spend years traveling on the road and singing on stage with him. That I have mountains of video footage and endless tracks of music to watch him on and hear his voice with. I’m lucky I got to say goodbye and tell him what he meant to me.”

The mother of two went on to marvel at the “immense outpouring” of love his family has experienced in the aftermath of his death. Krystal called it “a reminder that he wasn’t just ours. He was the world’s.”

“I will forever honor him,” she went on. “The pain is so unbelievably deep and it feels like I have a literal broken heart but I know that it wouldn’t hurt so bad if we didn’t love him and get to be loved so deeply by him. He never made me wonder if he would be there for me.”

“He made sure to live with Jesus so he could go with Jesus,” Krystal’s adoring post concludes. “Jesus taking him home is the cherry on top of the life we got to live with him.”

Stelen, 27, shared a moving tribute to his dad on Instagram Thursday.

“You are the strongest man I have ever known. A fighter. A true titan of your industry. My guiding star. My coach. My hero. An embodiment of the American Spirit,” he captioned an old photo of the two of them. “You are a man whose strength, prowess, and talent could only be trumped by his ability to be a father and husband.”

“You truly did it your way, from the starting gates to the finish line, and never apologized for it. The best mentor a man could ask for,” Stelen went on.

“I love you, cowboy,” he concluded.

Kieth died at the age of 62 Monday following a multi-year battle with stomach cancer. In addition to Krystal and Stelen he leaves behind another daughter, Shelly, and his wife of nearly 40 years, Tricia.

Rest in peace, Toby.

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