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Chris Cornell’s Daughter, 12, Writes Heartbreaking Letter on Father’s Day: ‘I Know You Are Still Here’

Chris Cornell’s 12-year-old daughter, Toni, penned a heartbreaking letter to her late dad in honor of Father’s Day, and recalled some of her favorite memories with the Soundgarden frontman, who died last month.

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Toni shared the note on Cornell’s Facebook page on Monday, June 19. “Daddy, Let me start by saying how much I love you and how much you mean to me,” she wrote. ” 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.” (Cornell shared Toni and son Christopher, 11, with wife Vicki Cornell, and daughter Lillian, 16, with his ex-wife Susan Silver.)

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Chris Cornell Toni
Toni Cornell and Chris Cornell Toni celebrates Elton John’s 70th Birthday and 50-Year Songwriting Partnership with Bernie Taupin at RED Studios Hollywood on March 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Michael Kovac/Getty Images

She recalled him as a loving and devoted father who would fight through jet lag to spend time with his kids and take care of them when they were sick. “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 continued. “Whenever I was sick you would take care of me. You would cuddle with me, hug me, kiss me. You didn’t care about getting sick. You would stay up all night to make sure my fever went down.” 

She reminisced about her favorite memory with her father — watching Purple Rain together for the first time. “We were staying at the BHH and you came into my room when I was trying to find a movie to watch. ‘How about Purple Rain?’ you said. I always trusted your judgement. I put it on and immediately fell in love! We then got to your favorite song, ‘The Beautiful Ones,’” she wrote. “I fell in love with the song too and listened to it on repeat.”

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Toni wrote that they had a “special connection” over the arts. “We both have a unconditional love for it,” she shared. “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.”

She also said that she knows in her heart that his death was not intentional. “YOU ARE THE BEST FATHER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. And I know, that if this wasn’t an accident, you’d still be cuddling with me watching Purple Rain,” she wrote.

As previously reported, the singer was found dead in his Detroit hotel room on May 18 after playing a sold-out show with his band. He was 52. His death was later ruled a suicide by hanging. Vicki released a statement claiming that prescription medications may have played a role in his death because “he loved our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life.” 

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