Fox News anchor Ainsley Earhardt honored her mother Dale Earhardt in a tribute after her death Saturday at the age of 72.
“You all probably are wondering how I can come to work today,” Ainsley said on Monday’s segment of “Fox & Friends” (per Mediaite). “The answer is my mom would have wanted me to.”
Dale had a stroke five years ago, and her husband notified their children that her health was in decline around a week ago so that they could go home to be with her when she passed. Dale was also diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 39, and she was on dialysis with gallbladder issues.
According to Ainsley, Dale “was a teacher for 33 years” and loved watching Fox & Friends. Dale kept tabs on her daughter’s work on the segment.
“She knew when I was taking a day off and would say, ‘Where are you?!” the co-anchor recalled.
Dale’s grandkids received the news of their grandmother’s death Saturday night. Ainsley, a devout Christian, asked her kids what they thought Christmastime would be like with their grandmother in heaven.
Her nephew Graham said, “there are going to be a lot of balloons,” while Ainsley’s daughter, Hayden, said, “Can we pick up the phone and call her in heaven.”
Ainsley ended the segment with her assertion that her mother would have wanted her at work, and she revealed her sister went back to work as a teacher Monday as well.
“We’re just grateful we know her faith was strong,” Ainsley said. “We know where she is. She’s with Jesus. She loved the lord and taught all of us about Jesus and took us to church every single Sunday.”
“Dad was kind of not the governor but we called him the governor,” she continued. “He knows everybody in South Carolina and is so well loved. Mom was kind of the one who was the support system for our family. And she cooked dinner for us every night.”
Ainsley also praised her mother’s servitude to her community.
“She was a school teacher. She would come home late, run around with our errands and have food on the table for my dad,” she added. “So she just was a servant. She served everybody in her community. She had a lot of friends. She loved playing bridge and shanghai.”
