Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley is one of many who have a touching story to share about the late country music legend Naomi Judd.
The 50-year-old “Father of the Bride” actress related her personal anecdote about Judd with Fox News Digital, the outlet reported.
“Naomi Judd was always very sweet to me. I met her a few times and I remember shortly after I met my husband [country music singer Brad Paisley], I was still really freaked out about flying,” she said while relaying travel tips.
“It was after 9/11 and I used to get so nervous flying as so many people were. And I remember one day, I was on a flight with Naomi, and she was sitting behind me, and I was so nervous, and she just seemed so at peace and calm.”
She continued, “Impulsively, I turned around to her and I said, ‘I really am scared to fly.’ She just looked at me with this sparkle in her eye and she said, ‘Oh, I’m not afraid of anything.'”
Paisley-Williams recalled feeling the words were “simple” and “inspiring.”
“And probably, you know, obviously not the case all the time. But in that moment, she felt it,” the actress said. “Ever since then, when I was afraid of flying, I would think, ‘Just pretend you’re Naomi. Just pretend you’re not afraid. Just say, I’m not afraid to fly’. And it worked. I’ve always been so grateful to her for just that one moment that she probably had no idea what gift she was giving me.”
Judd’s musical tribute over the weekend inspired many others to share stories. The 76-year-old, five-time Grammy Award winner committed suicide on April 30. Judd was scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on the following day.
Naomi and her daughter, Wynonna, reunited at the CMA Awards for a performance just weeks prior. The mother and daughter pair announced plans to go back on tour for the first time in 10 years.
Naomi’s other daughter, actress Ashley Judd, revealed that she found her mother and shared some details of what happened in an effort to “spread awareness” about mental illness and available treatments for it.
“When we’re talking about mental illness, it’s very important and — to be clear, and to make the distinction between our loved one and the disease,” she continued. “It’s very real — and it’s enough to — it lies. It’s savage,” she said.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free hotline for individuals in crisis or distress or for those looking to help someone else. It is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255.