Suzanne Somers’ husband, Alan Hamel, shares why the actress laid to rest in a pair of unexpected shoes.
via People:
“Suzanne never really had boots designed for hiking on the rocks, so I ordered the Timberland boots,” Hamel, 87, exclusively tells PEOPLE.
“[I] made my gift personal by drawing on them in a few words that represented our life to some degree and made them very personal to Suzanne,” explains Hamel.
Suzanne died on Oct. 15 from breast cancer. The TV host reveals that his late wife had “every manolo blahnik ever made,” but it would “have been predictable but not very personal” to have Suzanne “wearing [manolo blahniks] for her final trip.”
“Every time she put on the Timberlands, she said, ‘I am wearing you, and my boots will keep me safe.’”
The Canadian entertainer shares with PEOPLE that the couple developed an “early morning routine” that called for Somers’ signature boot. For over 50 years, the couple resided beside the mountains in both Malibu and Palm Springs.
Their routine “always included hiking to the top of one of the mountains, where there was a creek and a large flat rock in the middle of the creek.”
“By the time we got there, which was about a two-hour hike, the rock had been warmed by the morning sun,” says Hamel. “We would have our lunch on the rock and then take a one-hour nap on the rock and then hike back down and go to work.”
At the time of the Three’s Company actress’ death, she was surrounded by Hamel, her son Bruce and other members of her immediate family.
The actress died one day before her 77th birthday. Several members of the family gathered to celebrate her birthday, while others drove in the day of. But after her death, they decided to mark the day in another way, Hamel told PEOPLE.
“We actually toasted last night,” Hamel recalled. “We had, I think, 12 of us here, and all toasted Suzanne. I’m positive we’ll do something today. I don’t know what it will be, but it will involve a lot of cake, because Suzanne was crazy for cake.”
Somers’ family celebrated her life and legacy on Nov. 30, when the actress’ closest friends and family came together to “celebrate Suzanne’s incredible life” and her illustrious Hollywood career.
A second memorial will take place in Somers’ hometown of San Bruno, California, this week and the family will release portions of the celebrations later this month.
RIP to a legend.
