Glen Campbell’s widow, Kim, is opening up about the death of the country music icon, two years after his death. Campbell passed away on Aug. 8, 2017, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s.
“It’s such a long, long goodbye that you’re conditioned already to accept it,” Kim told PEOPLE. “But you carry around the sadness with you for so many years. The sadness lingers.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Kim just announced she is opening The Glen Campbell Museum in his honor, in Nashville, allowing his legacy to live on, for her and his fans.
“When I touch his clothes and when I look at the pictures of us together, it’s heart-wrenching for me, because I miss him every single day,” Kim said. “I feel like it’s a way to honor him, and I want to do everything I can to preserve his legacy and to share it with future generations.”
Kim keeps the memories of Campbell close, especially in her conversations with her children and step-children.
“He had an incredible sense of humor, and throughout our days, something will remind us, and we go, ‘If Dad were here, he would say this,’” Kim said. “So we still enjoy his sense of humor — even though he’s not here, we still hear him saying it.”
Campbell was married three times and weathered plenty of storms before marrying Kim in 1982.
“I think about his arms around me as a loving husband and my best friend. He told me every single day how much he loved me,” Kim boasted. “He overcame so much. When I met him, he was an alcoholic and addicted to drugs. He overcame all of that and became the best father and husband I could’ve ever imagined.”
Kim hopes the museum will remind everyone of the numerous ways Campbell contributed to coutnry music, and its popularity all over the world.
“No one did more for country music than Glen Campbell, because when he had his TV show, he brought country music to the forefront,” notes Kim, 61. “He made the country fall in love with country music. It’s so appropriate and right that he has a presence in Nashville, which is the heart of country music.”
A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit Abe’s Garden, a memory care facility where Campbell lived his last three years, as well as the Kim & Glen Campbell Foundation, which funds various music therapy efforts. An opening date for the museum has yet to be announced.
Photo Credit: Getty images / Rick Diamond
