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Looking back. One year after their 2010 wedding, Granger Smith and Amber Smith started growing their family. The country singer, 39, and the actress, 37, welcomed their daughter, London, in 2011. The little one became a big sister in 2014 when her baby brother, Lincoln, was born. River joined the family in 2016. In June 2019, the […]
“One year ago today, we took our ‘honor walk’ as we walked behind our sweet son down the long hallway to the operating room,” the actress, 38, captioned a Saturday, June 6, Instagram slideshow of throwback photos. “River took his last breath in there, without his Mommy and Daddy. We know his spirit was with Jesus, but his earthly body was still present and it was so hard to let them close those doors without us. I’ll never forget waiting for what felt like hours for them to come back and tell us everything went wonderful, they were taking the organs to the recipients and he was at peace. They later told me they played the Cars soundtrack as they operated.”
The Texas native, who also shares London, 8, and Lincoln, 6, with the country singer, 40, went on to write that she and Granger vowed not to let River’s death “break” their family. “We now had to make the trip home without Riv in his car seat,” she wrote. “We now had to tell our children their brother wasn’t coming home.”
Lending their support. Many of country music’s finest have reached out to support Granger Smith after the singer revealed that he and wife Amber Smith lost their 3-year-old son, River, in what the musician called a “tragic accident.” “Despite doctor’s best efforts, he was unable to be revived,” Granger, 39, wrote of his youngest child […]
The couple told River’s siblings about his death “out in the woods where Liv always played,” Amber recalled. “We sat together, held each other and had one of the hardest conversations I hope we ever have to have.”
While the family’s “rocky road of grief” has included “bumpy spots and many outright falls,” Amber noted, “We are walking, we are moving, we are taking the next steps and I can say that one year later, we are different. In a strange way, we are stronger by His grace. We have learned so much about ourselves and our family and our God.”
The Hot Air star has heard that her second year without River will be “harder” than the first, although she “doesn’t know how that could be.”
She concluded, “I’m ready to take it on, even if I have tears streaming down my face. I’m ready to keep learning and keep growing and keep trusting my God.”
From North to Tennessee, recap which stars have given their offspring the most unusual baby names
Amber and Granger announced River died by drowning in a June 2019 Facebook post. “Riv was special,” the “Backroad Song” singer wrote at the time. “Everyone that met him knew that immediately. The joy he brought to our lives cannot be expressed and his light will be forever in our hearts. If there are words to say more, I cannot find them in this moment.”
The couple have since created the River Kelly Fund to support causes “including children in need, arts and education, wildlife preservation, military, veteran and first responder assistance, donor affiliations and many more organizations.”