John McCain’s Widow Cindy Shares Emotional Message on Their 40th Anniversary

Cindy McCain paid emotional tribute to her late husband John McCain on what would have been their 40th wedding anniversary. On Sunday, McCain took to both Instagram and Twitter with a heart touching message commemorating the occasion, in which she reflected on her husband’s loss and their relationship. She shared the note alongside a throwback photo of herself and the late senator holding two of their children.

“Today would have been been our 40th wedding anniversary. John I hope you know how much I miss you,” McCain captioned the photo. “Everyday we had together was such a gift. Although my heart is still broken into a million pieces, I’m trying to stay strong for the children, the grandchildren and the country. The sun is shining today, the grass is green and the birds are singing here in our beloved Hidden Valley. Somehow I think you know that though. I love you very much! Happy Anniversary my love.”

John McCain, an American politician and military officer who served as a United States senator for Arizona, died in August of 2018 at the age of 81 following a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The family had announced prior to his death that he had chosen to stop treatment. Marking the one-year anniversary of his passing, Cincy McCain had wrote an emotional first-person piece for PEOPLE.

“Things are getting better, as he promised us they would before he left us,” she wrote in part. “We still miss his dynamism, his humor, the adventures we shared, the fun we had together. We miss his fighting spirit, especially when it served the causes he cared about most — respect for the dignity of all people and the political values that best protect it: liberty and justice for all. He taught us how to fight for those causes ourselves and to recognize them as the bonds that should unite our often fractured society. John was never happier, never more satisfied, never more sure of himself than when he was helping the good guys fight the bad guys to help the little guys.”

“Life with John was not for the timid or idle. It was the wildest ride at the amusement park, with lots of thrills and occasional terrors and a rush of adrenaline every day,” she concluded. “He occupied too huge a space in our lives ever to stop missing him entirely. But he expected us to get on with life and with the purposes that invest our lives with meaning and value.”