Alan Thicke’s family are going to have a "celebration" in his honour at the weekend.
The ‘Growing Pains’ actor passed away earlier this week after suffering a heart attack, and while his oldest sons, Brennan and singer Robin, 39, are processing their grief with "quiet time", they will all come together on Saturday (17.12.16) to remember the star.
Brennan, 41, and Robin’s mother, Alan’s ex-wife Gloria Loring, told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "I told them I was ready to come in and be with them if they wanted me there.
"They said, ‘Give us a day, we just need some quiet time.’ I said, ‘I’m there if you need me, and I’m here in Lake Arrowhead if you want to talk.’ Everyone has their own way of grieving.
"We’re all going to be together on Saturday because we have a joint birthday party for my son, Brennan, and myself. So, it will be a celebration of Alan, as well as our lives. It’ll be a very tender time for sure."
Though Alan – who also had 19-year-old son Carter with second ex-wife Gina Tolleson – and Gloria, 70, divorced in 1984, they remained close and she can’t bear the thought of life without him.
She said: "He loved his family so much. He was the centerpiece to our family and I can’t imagine going forward.
"We always had Thanksgiving and Christmas with the big, extended family, and I just can’t imagine how it’s going to be without him.
"Alan loved his kids, loved his grandkids – he was known as ‘Pops,’ and I think my sons could speak best to their relationship with him, but I know it was always one of a mentor, a counsellor, a supporter.
"He was always there when they needed him. He was very devoted to his family and he was always so much fun to have in the room anywhere he was — his sense of humour went before him."
And Gloria will always cherish her time with Alan, who is survived by third wife Tanya Callau.
She said: "I’m so grateful that I had the time I had with him.
"I learned so much from being with him about so many aspects of being an adult, and being in the entertainment industry, because he was a writer and a producer and I was merely a performer.
"He opened my eyes to what production people go through, and the demands of that. So, I’m just so grateful for the time I had with him."
Alan Thicke’s family will celebrate his life
