Charlie Daniels’ Son Says Family Is ‘Still Shell-Shocked’ After Country Icon’s Death

Charlie Daniels died on July 6, leaving behind his wife, Hazel, and their son, Charlie Jr. On July 11, the day after Daniels’ funeral, Charlie Jr. used his father’s website to share an update on his family as well as reflect on his father’s final hours before he died of a hemorrhagic stroke. “I think it goes without saying, that this has been the worst week of my life, bar none,” Charlie Jr. began. “The man I’ve known for 55 years, who, along with my mom, have always been there for me is gone. We’re still shell-shocked.”

Charlie Jr. continued his post by recalling the day of his father’s death, sharing that he received a call from his mom, Hazel Daniels, at 5:45 in the morning letting him know that Daniels was sick. “I quickly drove up to the house and found mom and dad on the upstairs porch and dad was slumped over in his chair, I asked him if he could breathe, he nodded and tried to say yes, but it was obvious that he was very weak,” he wrote. An ambulance arrived and took Daniels to Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, his son following. Once there, someone spoke with Daniels Jr. and Daniels’ longtime manager, David Corlew, telling them that Daniels had had a “massive stroke” and that his blood was not clotting due to the blood thinner he was on.

In 2010, Daniels had a stroke while snowmobiling in Colorado and made an almost complete recovery, his son calling him “a machine.” After that stroke, Daniels was prescribed a blood thinner, which “probably kept him from having another stroke for 10 years.” He also had a pacemaker and a later cardiac catheter ablation surgery to improve his heart rhythm, but Daniels Jr. wrote that “the blood thinner is what did him in this time. Because his blood wasn’t clotting, the blood kept pouring into his brain stem.”

“We asked if there was anything, ANYTHING that could be done,” he recalled. “He said they could try to reverse the effects of the blood thinner and see if they could stop the bleeding. But by the time the meds kicked in, they weren’t getting any brain activity. Mom had already been summoned, and we said our goodbyes.”

“He was the strongest man I’ve ever known,” Daniels Jr. continued. “The best father, the best boss, the best friend I could ever ask for. My mom and I miss him terribly.” While his dad may be gone, Daniels Jr. has no doubt that he will one day be reunited with his father. “I know he’s only gone in the physical sense,” he wrote, “I have no doubt that at 9:52 AM on Monday morning on July 6th, dad heard ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant,’ and I know that I will see him again.”