The Soundgarden singer’s daughters – 17-year-old Lillian and 12-year-old Toni – shared kind sentiments about their late father on social media.
Chris Cornell’s daughters have paid tribute to the late star in a series of Father’s Day posts.
The Soundgarden and Audioslave singer, 52, was found dead May 17 in a Detroit hotel room, and his daughters – 17-year-old Lillian and 12-year-old Toni – shared kind sentiments about their late father on social media in light of the recent holiday.
In a lengthy statement posted Monday to Cornell’s Facebook page, Toni said, ‘Daddy, Let me start by saying how much I love you and how much you mean to me.
‘You are my idol, someone I’ve always looked up to. You were always there for me. You pushed me forward every day, and you still do.’
Toni, whose mother is Cornell’s widow Vicky Karayiannis, continued, ‘Whenever I cry or feel like there’s no way I can go on, I hear your voice, ‘Don’t sit worrying peanut. Worry is a waste of time, I’m OK.”
Toni praised her late father as an involved one, even with a busy working schedule.
‘Every time you came home from tour you spent all your hours with us. No matter how tired you were, how many time zones you traveled, you were there for us, ‘ she said. Toni said that the caring and affectionate Cornell always took care of her when she was ill, adding, ‘I would open my eyes, see you, and feel better.’
She fondly remembered how she and her dad watched Prince’s 1984 film Purple Rain earlier this year, and how his favorite song from the motion picture was The Beautiful Ones.
‘I fell in love with the song too and listened to it on repeat, ‘ Toni said. ‘Our special connection was always the arts. Poems, books, music, writing. We both have a unconditional love for it.
‘Who’s going to introduce me to movies like Purple Rain and songs like The Beautiful Ones now? I’m hoping I will find some because you trained me so well. I know you are still here, and the warmth I feel beneath the cold, is you.’
Toni called her late dad ‘the best father in the whole wide world’ and ‘the best dad anyone could ever have.’
She concluded, ‘And I know, that if this wasn’t an accident, you’d still be cuddling with me watching Purple Rain. I love you and miss you so, Daddy.’
Toni’s heartfelt tribute was accompanied by a collection of snaps with her dad, who was also father to an 11-year-old son named Christopher with Karayiannis.
Lillian, whose mother is Cornell’s ex-wife Susan Silver, said she was ‘proud’ to be Cornell’s daughter Sunday in a separate Facebook post .
She said that her father’s ‘warmth and love’ inspired her to do her best, and she hopes to ‘continue to make [him] proud’ by helping others as he did.
Lillian said she and her two siblings vowed ‘to survive, persevere and thrive, as we’ve always done.
‘I’m so proud to be your baby, I love you more than words can say and I will miss you forever, ‘ she wrote.
While authorities have ruled Cornell’s death a suicide by hanging, the singer’s family rejected the conclusion, saying that substances Cornell had in his system might have caused him to accidentally take his own life, TMZ reported earlier this month.
