It’s been 11 months since Granger Smith‘s 3-year-old son, River Kelly Smith, died in a “tragic drowning accident at home” in Georgetown, Texas. On Thursday, the country music singer’s wife, Amber Smith, looked back at a sweet family moment before the child’s death.
“One year ago. My caption was ‘enjoying daddy being home and Texas rain.’ Life was good,” she wrote alongside an old photo of herself smiling alongside her husband and kids. “No one has a perfect life, but it was pretty dang good. Happy kids, happy marriage, happy hearts. We couldn’t have known the storm we would be facing in less than 30 days. Life is unpredictable. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Life can change in an instant. Love your family. Love your friends. Love your God. John 16:33.”
Granger shared the “unthinkable news” of River’s passing on June 6, 2019.
“We’ve lost our youngest son, River Kelly Smith,” the artist wrote via Instagram at the time. “Following a tragic accident, and despite doctor’s best efforts, he was unable to be revived. Amber and I made the decision to say our last goodbyes and donate his organs so that other children will be given a second chance at life. Our family is devastated and heartbroken, but we take solace in knowing he is with his Heavenly Father. Riv was special. Everyone that met him knew that immediately. The joy he brought to our lives cannot be expressed and his light will be forever in our hearts.”
While Granger did not reveal the cause of death at the time of the announcement, his rep confirmed it to People later that month. In addition, Granger and Amber, who are also parents to daughter London Smith and son Lincoln Smith, opened up about the accident in an emotional tribute video.
“It was actually a night just like this, and I was outside playing with London,” Granger recalled. “We were doing gymnastics in the yard and the boys were playing water gun fight. I remember thinking, I was looking at London as she was doing gymnastics and I thought, ‘Soak up this moment…because it’s not going to last forever.’ Somewhere between 30 seconds and three minutes, we don’t know, Amber and I are inside our pool gate doing CPR on our son.”
The couple also received support from their fans and fellow celebrities. In fact, the two said their followers helped them raise more than $100,000 for Dell Children’s Medical Center, where River was cared for before his death, through the sale of a tribute T-shirt. Amber and Granger also shared that two people’s lives were saved from the transplant of River’s donated organs. In addition, they launched The River Kelly Fund in the late child’s honor.
At the end of June, Amber wrote about how “getting back on the road and back into daily life without River has not been easy in the slightest.”
“Every single thing reminds me of him, and all I can think about is how he would love exploring and seeing all that we are seeing,” she wrote in part of an Instagram post. “I see his name everywhere, I see little red-headed toddlers everywhere. I miss his silly personality and his bright light. I see his face in our other kiddos. I have this pit in my stomach constantly, because I’m trying to make life as normal as possible for our other 2 incredible kiddos, London and Lincoln, while hurting so bad inside. I look around at everyone else and wonder if anyone is going through something like we are. Dumb little things don’t matter anymore. My family does. My faith does. We’ve got this, because God’s got us. Thank you all for your continued support, prayers and love. It really does help us so much.”