Kathie Lee Gifford reclaimed her seat at the Today show Monday, marking her first appearance since losing husband Frank Gifford on Aug. 9.
“I want to thank everybody for your love and your texts and your tweets,” Gifford told viewers at the top of the fourth hour. “Just the outpouring has been extraordinary,” she said. “It’s a heck of a way to find out how loved you are. Believe me, my family and I got great strength and comfort from it.”
Gifford went on to explain how her late husband — who spent 12 seasons with the New York Giants, ultimately winning the MVP award in 1956 — grew up in poverty during the Great Depression and never took his eventual success for granted.
“I’m grateful that the Lord took him [instantly], because the only thing that Frank has ever been afraid of his entire life was being a burden to those he loved,” she concluded. “He never wanted to be hooked up to machines. He never wanted to lose his dignifity. I thank the Lord for that, for his grace to us as a family, and I pray his grace to all of you as well.”
