Jimmy Buffett’s daughter posted a touching tribute to her father, days after the singer-songwriter died following a 4-year battle with skin cancer.
“I knew my dad my whole life, but in his final days, I saw who he was: a man whose spirit could not be broken,” Delaney Buffett wrote on Instagram Wednesday.
“Despite the pain, he smiled everyday. He was kind when he had every excuse not to be. He told us not to be sad or scared, but to keep the party going. And as much as I’d like to use that as an excuse to drink myself into an oblivion worthy of his literary heroes, I know it’s not what he meant,” she continued. “Yes, he loved his weed and his wine, but the truth is, most of the time, he was just high on life, and that is what he wanted for everyone: to enjoy the fantastic trip that life can be.”
Buffett died Friday at the age of 76 of a rare and aggressive skin cancer called Merkel cell cancer, according to a statement on his website, which added that he died peacefully surrounded by “his family, friends, music and dogs.”
Delaney Buffett remembered him as the “hardest working person” she’d ever seen and called him a great father to her and her siblings. She recalled how generous he was to friends and strangers and said that he “had a deep admiration for the people he worked with.”
The stage was “his home,” she said, writing that his fans, band and “everyone on the road gave him the strength to keep going back.”
“I’ll pass along something my mom said to me: ‘Whenever you feel sad or lost, look for the messages in his music. There are plenty.'”
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The two-time Grammy nominee, who called his brand of music “drunken Caribbean rock ‘n’ roll,” is best known for his 1977 song “Margaritaville,” which thrust him into national fame. Among his catalog of songs is also “Delaney Talks to Statues,” which he wrote for his daughter. He also turned his vibe into a business venture, launching restaurants, clothing lines, and more.
Delaney concluded her post by thanking his doctors and nurses “for giving us more time together” and family and friends “for reminding me of the importance of human connection.”
“And finally, to my dad, thank you. You turned nothing into something and gave me everything,” she wrote. “I will never be able to repay you or my mom for my beautiful life. I will love you forever, and I will always keep the party going (responsibly, of course).”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
