Jennifer Garner Announces the Sad News of Her ‘Kind and Brilliant’ Father’s Death

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Jennifer Garner has shared some sad news. Her dad, William Garner, has died at age 85. The actor posted a long, loving tribute to her father on her Instagram on April 1, a few days after he died on March 30.

“We were with him, singing Amazing Grace as he left us (did we carry him across or scare him away—valid question.),” she wrote, with a little humor. “While there is no tragedy in the death of an 85-year-old man who lived a healthy, wonderful life, I know grief is unavoidable, waiting around unexpected corners.” But Garner continued in her post, “Today is for gratitude.”

Garner went on to describe her father's “gentle demeanor” and “quiet strength” as an “ever patient girl dad,” and devoted husband to his wife of 59 years. “There is so much to say about my dad—my sisters and I will never be done talking about how wonderful he was, so bear with us—but for today I share these memories with my appreciation for the kind and brilliant man, father, and grandfather he was, as well as the loving legacy he left behind,” the actor wrote.

Alongside the caption Garner included several photos of her father, including some throwbacks to when she and her sisters were children. She also included a clip from her dad's cameo in one of her Capital One commercials—the one where she says he proudly told the bank employee that Jennifer Garner was his “middle daughter.” “When I first started working with Capital One, my dad called them up and asked for ‘the Jennifer Garner card,’ which is such a dad thing to do,” she recalled in the ad.

He will clearly be dearly missed.


Originally Appeared on Glamour