43 Comforting Quotes to Share With Anyone Who Has Lost a Father
"I often feel that when someone passes, you now have an angel you can call by name."
By Shelby Copeland
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There are no words to fully describe the impact that a father (or even a father-in-law or father figure) has on the lives of their sons or daughters. For some, fathers are heroes who provide and protect, while others see their dear old dad as the one who has truly guided them, from childhood throughout adulthood. That's exactly why—no matter how old we are—we may never truly get over the loss of a father, whether he passed after a long life or much too soon.
And while losing a father may be inevitable, that doesn't make the profound absence any easier, especially on anniversaries, milestones, and holidays. If you're grieving your own dad this Father's Day or trying to show sympathy to a friend in mourning, it may be difficult to find the sentiment that'll not only pay tribute to him but will also help ease the pain. The best thing you can do is to be there for your hurting loved one. Perhaps that means texting them a simple "I'm thinking of you," or, you can share a poignant quote—from celebrated authors and poets (like Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou) to inspirational figures (like Michelle Obama and Oprah herself)—all of which may provide comfort during a difficult time.
Acclaimed poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou's poem "When A Great Trees Fall" uses symbolism to show the process of loss, "And when great souls die, / after a period peace blooms, / slowly and always / irregularly."
Lady O of O shared the stage with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on her 2020 Vision Tour with WW in January 2020. The appearance happened to take place just days after Johnson's dad, Rocky Johnson, passed away. Oprah said to him, "I often feel that when someone passes, you now have an angel you can call by name."
"Something that is loved is never lost," the Presidential Medal of Honor awardee said in Beloved, arguably Morrison's most well-known novels about a former slave who escaped Ohio in the 1870s.
Temi Ouelola
Yann Martel
"To lose your father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports its branches," Canadian author Yann Martel said in his New York Times Bestseller, Life of Pi.
Helen Keller, a pioneering advocate for the deaf and blind, said "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us," in her book, The Open Door.
Saint Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, a Catholic reformer who lived in the 1500s, spoke of losing her father in a book of her collected works, "[On her father:] ... in losing him I lost my greatest blessing and comfort, for he was always that to me."
American novelist Gloria Naylor, best known for her The Women of Brewster Place put plainly in her book Mama Day: A Novel, "Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes."
Former first lady Michelle Obama talked about losing her father in 1991 when she returned to her home city of Chicago to speak to high school graduates, "Let me tell you, he is the hole in my heart. His loss is my scar. But let me tell you something, his memory drives me forward every single day of my life."
Ted Kennedy Jr.
Ted Kennedy Jr. spoke about his dad, the former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, on Larry King Live in 2009 weeks after his passing, "You see, my father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable. And that is -- it is what we do with that loss -- our ability to transform it into a positive event —that is one of my father's greatest lessons."
"Grief is the price we pay for love," Queen Elizabeth II said in a message, read by the British ambassador to Washington, shortly after the September 11 terrorist attack.
Jim Valvano
Jim Valvano, a legendary college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster spoke about his father in a speech, "The gift my father gave me every day of my life was he believed in me."
Jennifer Grant
Beverly Hills, 90210 actress Jennifer Grant spoke about her late father in her book, Good Stuff, "Many people long for a father's love. I had it. I have it still."
Thomas G. Stemberg
Thomas G. Stemberg, the CEO of Staples talked about losing his father in a New York Times article, "Of course, losing my father was traumatic. I was an only child. But from the time my father died, my general theme in life has been to turn adversity into opportunity."
"The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering galleries, they are clearly heard at the end, and by posterity," Jean Paul, a prominent German writer during the Romanticism movement, said in his book Levana; Or, the Doctrine of Education.
"It was a portion of my own self-analysis, my reaction to my father's death—that is to say, to the most important event, the most poignant loss of a man's life," Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, said in his book The Interpretation of Dreams.
E.E. Cummings, an American poet, playwright, and painter wrote in his poem "My Father Moved Through Dooms of Love," "and nothing quite so least as truth / —i say though hate were why men breathe— / because my Father lived his soul /love is the whole and more than all."
"And you, my father, there on the sad height, / Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. /Do not go gentle into that good night. /Rage, rage against the dying of the light," Welsh poet Dylan Thomas said in his poem "Do Not Go Gentle Good Night" in 1951.
"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear," British writer and theologian C.S. Lewis wrote in his book A Grief Observed in 1961.
Anne Roiphe
In her memoir about widowhood, Epilogue, journalist Anne Roiphe wrote, "Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life,"
President George W. Bush delivered a eulogy at the Washington National Cathedral for his father, and also former President George H.W. Bush in December 2018. He said, "To his very last days, dad's life was instructive. As he aged, he taught us how to grow old with dignity, humor, and kindness—and, when the Good Lord finally called, how to meet Him with courage and with joy in the promise of what lies ahead."
Laurie Beth Jones
In 1998, Laurie Beth Jones, an author and a spiritual coach, said in her book Grow Something Besides Old: Seeds for a Joyful Life, "My father was always there for me when I lost. But, then, I never really lost when my father was there."
Romantic novelist Nicholas Sparks wrote in this in his book, Dear John in 2007.
Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley remembered his father Bob Marley, one of the most prolific artists to represent reggae music, in an Essence feature for Father's Day, "Every day of our lives, our Father is with us. Every day our Father is here with us spiritually anyway."
Austrian American acrtress Hedy Lamarr said "I am not ashamed to say that no man I ever met was my father's equal, and I never loved any other man as much," in her autobiography Ecstasy and me: My Life as a Woman.
George Saundrs
"He was a father. That's what a father does. Eases the burdens of those he loves," George Saunders, a writer whose short stories were published in The New Yorker, said in his book Tenth of December: Stories.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a popular poet in the 19th century, wrote in his poem "Charles Summer:" "So when a great man dies, / For years beyond our ken, / The light he leaves behind him lies / Upon the paths of men."
Brena Ueland
"The death of any loved parent is an incalculable lasting blow. Because no one ever loves you again like that," American writer and journalist Brenda Ueland wrote in Me: A Memoir.
Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese-American writer who was a key figure in Arabic literary modernization, wrote in his book of poetry The Prophet, "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."
"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom," Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco said in his novel Foucault's Pendulum.
"One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters," Welsh poet and priest of the Church of England, George Herbert said in his book of collected works.
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