Naomi Judd Honored by Daughters Ashley Judd, Wynonna Judd and More in Emotional Memorial

usmagazine.com:

A country legend remembered. Naomi Judd‘s life and legacy were celebrated in an emotional televised memorial organized by her daughters and husband.Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration, which aired live from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on CMT on Sunday, May 15, featured Judd’s daughters, singer Wynonna, 57, and actress Ashley, 54 — who organized the event with their late mother’s husband, Larry Strickland.“Welcome to the mother church of country music, this is where mom wanted her public celebration to take place and thank you for being in community and in fellowship with us.

Because we can pretend to care, but we cannot pretend to show up. Thank you for showing up for our mom,” Ashley began. “And at this time when I am so forlorn, I say to my creator, I do not know who you are, and yet I do know who you are because you are the one who saved me.

And in the dark night of the soul, I say to myself, I do not know who I am because I am the one you saved.”The actress went on to give a eulogy for her mother.“The result is that we are here tonight remembering an icon and legend who left country music better than she found it,” Ashley continued. “Since the 30th of April we have been remembering the complex and dynamic life of our mother and story.

She was every woman. Perhaps, this is why everyone thought they knew her. She was a nurse. She was a single mom who sometimes relied on public assistance, she was traumatized by early childhood abuse, intimate partner violence and rape and she was fired by a boss when she refused to go away with him for a weekend.”She concluded: “She was Mamaw to her grandchildren, Elisha and Grace and to my chosen family and she was totally extraordinary.