Frank Gifford passed away on August 9, 2015.
The iconic New York Giants wide receiver and longtime sports broadcaster died at home, near his wife, in Connecticut.
To those who have followed the career of Kathie Lee Gifford, of course, Frank was a giant outside the world of sports.
He was someone the talk show host often gushed over on air.
He was the father of five children, the grandfather of five more and the love of this Today Show co-anchor’s life.
The day after Frank’s death, Kathie Lee did not go into work, naturally.
But good friend and veteran colleague Hoda Kotb paid emotional tribute to her pal’s late husband during a moving segment.
"She said this is not a tragedy,” Kotb said of her conversation with Kathie Lee about Frank.
"I was holding her hand, and she said, ‘A 4-year-old girl having cancer is a tragedy.’ She said Frank lived to be almost 85.
"She said he lived an incredible life, has an incredible family and an incredible legacy.
"She said his life is a triumph."
When Kathie Lee did eventually return to work, she took a few moments herself to mourn Frank on air.
And now, a year after his death, she had done so again.
"I’ve gotten through this past year the way I’ve gotten through every day of my life: faithfully trusting God to do what God does, which is to show up, redeem and restore," Kathie Lee wrote yesterday on Today.com.
She went on:
“God doesn’t promise you a year. He promises you a day at a time. He broke life into 24-hour periods because that’s all we can handle.
"The next day, you reach for your fresh cup of mercy that you need every bit as much as the day before."
The TV personality then thought back on the day she found her husband dead inside their Connecticut residence, having passed away from natural causes.
“When I found Frank on that beautiful Sunday morning, he was already gone,” she wrote.
“The look on his face was complete and total wonder. I felt in that moment he saw Jesus, and Jesus took his breath away. That’s the way I want to go.”
Pretty powerful stuff, huh?
Gifford was able to maintain a sense of humor in her blog entry as well, saying of Frank at the time he left her:
“He passed away still beautiful and one week shy of 85. He went ready to go to church that day. And you know what, he sure did go to church that day!”
The couple exchanged vows in October 1986 and share children Cassidy, 23, and Cody, 26.
And this is how Gifford concluded her post yesterday, by giving others who may be grieving a few words of advice.
I would tell them it’s impossible to do it on your own. You need to immerse yourself in the word of God. What I would do is get up in the morning and spend time in prayer.
Start really learning as much Scripture as possible so you can quote it without looking it up, so it’s in your DNA. You can call on it when you’re feeling challenged in your faith. …
Concentrate on what you still have and the memories and the knowledge that you will all be united one day.
I am not saying it’s easy. I am saying it’s possible.