Country music star Kellie Pickler‘s father, Clyde “Bo” Pickler Jr., reportedly died unexpectedly at the age of 54 on Monday, Sept. 16. Details on the singer’s father’s death have not been revealed, though some of the family’s loved ones and fans have taken to Facebook to mourn his loss.
“Prayers for the Pickler family “RIP” Bo Pickler your will be greatly missed,” Wendy Rummage wrote on Facebook Monday, as first highlighted by 96.9 The Kat.
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“R.I.P.Bo Pickler You will be greatly missed. Prayers for all,” Shelly Russell added.
Kellie, who rose to fame as a contestant on American Idol, has not spoken publicly about her father’s reported passing, with her latest post on Instagram dated August 17. Her Twitter account also showed the singer had not shared a new post since June.
The radio station writes Kellie had credited her father for giving her many o her “life skills.
“He spent a lot of time teaching me how to fend for myself. He taught me life skills. I know how to survive and make something from nothing and he taught me how to do that,” Kellie said in an appearance on The View in 2012.
An obituary post on Legacy.com said Clyde was born on December 15, 1964. The site featured many messages from loved ones paying their respects to the Pickler family.
Clyde made headlines in 2013 after he was listed as a fugitive by the Florida Department of Corrections after he reportedly left the state without reporting to his probation officer, Taste of Country reported at the time. He had trouble with the law in his life, including spending three years in prison for aggravated battery and assault related to a stabbing in 2003. He was released in 2006, shortly after Kellie was eliminated from the reality competition series.
Kellie — who also won a season of Dancing With the Stars — has stayed relatively out of the spotlight since E.W. Scripps Company announced the cancellation of her syndicated talk show, Pickler & Ben, co-hosted by Ben Aaron. The Nashville-filmed series premiered in September 2017 and featured segments on cooking, design, entertainment and more.
“We were really disappointed to have to announce that we were going to be sunsetting Pickler & Ben after season two,” Scripps’ Brian Lawlor, president of local media told The Tennessean in March. “We loved the show. Audiences loved the show.”
