Sandra Lee Announces Deaths of Her Aunt and Uncle Who Were Parent Figures to Her: ‘I Will Always Love You’

Sandra Lee is mourning the loss of two of her family members.

Early this week, the Food Network star, 56, announced the deaths of her aunt Peggy and uncle Bill on Instagram and penned separate tributes to them both.

“This is the saddest things [sic] I will ever write. My wonderful Uncle Bill has passed away. He was a Father to me, My only real Dad,” Lee began her Instagram post on Sunday, alongside heartwarming photos of her uncle.

In what she called a “special Father’s Day tribute,” Lee wrote about how she lived at her aunt and uncle’s house “on & off as a baby.”

“My Uncle was my mentor, my protector, my facilitator, my confidant, my best friend,” continued Lee. “He smiled when I was nice, but when I was naughty, he would burst in bold thunderous laughter.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctro6eXPAP4/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=af86c128-8ac2-446a-8b77-41c449454160

“They were The Notebook! Inseparable Playmates, Life-mates,” Lee wrote in the post shared on Monday, saying that her uncle “adored her, even as they argued.”

Lee credits her creativity to her aunt who taught her pattern-making and took her to trade shows and state fairs.

“She held the first cameras capturing me & my flower arrangements, sat for my Christmas video cover, told me to NOT be discouraged when no one believed in Semi-Homemade,” she wrote in the caption of her post, which featured throwback pictures of Peggy. “She helped me believe in me.”

Lee closed out the post with a touching message. “The gratefulness is endless. She is irreplaceable,” she wrote. “I will always love you so Auntie!”