What To Know
- Lara Spencer honored both her late mother and father on what would have been their shared birthday, over five months after her mother’s passing.
- The Good Morning America host shared heartfelt tributes and memories of her parents on Instagram.
- Spencer has continued to commemorate her parents on the small screen and on social media.
Lara Spencer commemorated a special occasion over five months after the death of her mother, Carolyn von Seelen.
The Good Morning America host took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday, August 4, to celebrate both her late mother and late father’s birthdays. “Aug 4 is both my mom and dad’s birthday,” Spencer captioned a sweet video of herself and her daughter, Katharine, giving von Seelen kisses on the cheek. “Missing them.”
In another Instagram Story post, Spencer shared a throwback snap of her father, Richard Ernest von Seelen. “Happy birthday to the two greatest parents a girl could ask for,” she wrote alongside the pic.
Spencer’s father reportedly passed away in January 2011. Back in February, Spencer announced via Instagram that her mother had died at the age of 85. “If you were lucky enough to meet my mom you know that smile that lit up every room she walked into. What you might not have seen at first glance was her courage, resilience, endless optimism, deep faith, and boundless love for her family,” she wrote alongside photos of her mom with family and her GMA colleagues over the years. “If you were lucky enough to meet my mom you know that smile that lit up every room she walked into. What you might not have seen at first glance was her courage, resilience, endless optimism, deep faith, and boundless love for her family.”
Courtesy of Lara Spencer/Instagram
Spencer continued, “She was a woman who loved a saying — she had one for everything-and used them often to help us get thru life’s challenges or painful moments. One of her favorite was ‘don’t be sad it’s over honey — be grateful it happened.’ Sorry mama but there’s no way to not feel the pain of overwhelming sadness at the thought of not having you to share life with each day, but we sure are grateful YOU happened and showered us with your loving warmth and humor.”
She concluded the post by writing, “Our loving mom, grandmother to 12 and great-grandmother to 4 left us on Friday the 13TH (which we know she would have gotten a kick out of) surrounded by her children and her beloved rescue dog to reunite with my Dad and our sister Pamela. We love you always and forever mom.”
Spencer took a brief break from GMA in the wake of her mother’s death. She thanked her GMA family for their support in a March 4 Instagram post, writing, “So grateful for the care and love I have received during this time. This is just one moment-after a big hug-caught on camera-but there have been so many-and they have meant the world to me. Thank you gma family. Love you.”
Spencer honored her mother with the release of her Freeform series That Thrifting Show, as the mother-daughter duo shared a love of thrifting. Spencer has also continued to honor her late parents on social media, sharing photos of their gravestones via Instagram on June 24.
“Yes they had the same birthday. My favorite day of the year,” she wrote at the time. “August 4…… will be hard this year.”
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