Ashley Campbell Pens Poignant Letter to Fans After Glen Campbell’s Passing
“Thank you for remembering my father with me," she wrote.
Losing a family member is a terrible process to go through for anyone, but having to watch them as their mind proceeds their body in loss is a whole other story. Singer/songwriter Ashley Campbell had to watch as her father, country music icon Glen Campbell, slowly began to forget her and her family over the years after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011.
Ashley and her family kept close to their patriarch over the years, playing in his band on his farewell tour and becoming his caretaker as the disease ripped him apart.
Now, just days after his passing, Ashley penned a note to fans to talk about her life as the daughter of Glen Campbell and why she wrote her single, “Remembering,” for him.
Ashley Campbell letter; Photo Courtesy of Ashley Campbell
“Dear Reader,” she began. “Many of you know my father, Glen Campbell as the guitar player, singer, and international icon that he was. Some of you may know him as the wonderful man and friend he was to so many people. I had the privilege of knowing Glen Campbell as a father. I also had the honor and privilege of caring for my dad through his entire journey with Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Music was the thing that could bring him back to us when the fog would pull him just a little further away,” she continued. “When I wrote ‘Remembering’ I knew there would come a time when he wouldn’t know who I am and I was looking for a way to be able to reach him, even when he seemed lost. I wrote this song to bring him comfort and to let him know that I would always be there for him. Now, after he has passed, when I sing this song, I feel like he is reaching back for me as I reached for him. I can feel him with me in the music and he is comforting me now.”
As she closed her note, Ashley concluded, “Thank you for remembering my father with me.”
Glen Campbell passed away on Tuesday, August 8. He was laid to rest in a private ceremony in his hometown of Delight, Ark. on Wednesday (Aug. 9). He is survived by his wife, Kim Campbell; their three children, Cal, Shannon and Ashley as well as his children from previous marriages, Debby, Kelli, Travis, Kane, and Dillon.
