It's been three decades since beloved character actor John Candy died of a heart attack at age 43.
On March 4, Candy's two children delivered touching messages in honor of their late father on the anniversary of his death.
“30 years ago today… feels like a lifetime with and without you. “I miss you and love you forever,” Jennifer Candy-Sullivan, 44, wrote on Instagram.
“He was the best dad,” Jennifer tells TODAY.com. “He would say, ‘Don’t worry about what people think of you. Just be your authentic self.'”
“The other thing about my dad is that he was the ultimate family man,” she continues. “That's why he didn't want to do 'Saturday Night Live.' He knew this lifestyle wouldn't be healthy for him. He was smart in that way.”
Jennifer named her five-year-old son Finley John William after his grandfather.
“He definitely looks like a Candy. He definitely has my dad’s hair,” Jennifer says, noting that the little boy also resembles his paternal grandfather.
Anniversaries of loss can be difficult, but Jennifer says she feels “strong” today.
“My childhood best friend died last month. We grew up together, she knew my father. And her death made me miss my father,” says Jennifer.
Jennifer's brother Christopher, 39, also paid tribute to their father on Instagram on March 4. Right now, Candy is wearing his signature Hawaiian pattern.
“All my love goes out to my dad today,” Chris, 39, wrote.
Both of Candy's children followed him into the entertainment industry. Chris and Jennifer are both writers and actors.
Candy was best known for his roles in '80s comedies including Uncle Buck and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He was married to his wife, a ceramicist and abstract painter, Rosemary Margaret Hobor, for 15 years.
“He was an everyday guy and a great dad and very loving,” Jennifer told “Entertainment Tonight” in 2015. “Very similar to the characters he played in the film.”
Candy died in Mexico while filming the 1994 film “Wagon's East.”
“I was 9. It was a Friday,” Chris said during a conversation with in 2016. “I remember talking to him the night before he died and he said, 'I love you and Good night.' And I will always remember that.”
Jennifer, who was 14 when Candy died, also remembered her last phone call with her father.
“So I talked to him on the phone and I hate it, but I was a little distant because I was studying,” she told the publication. “So I was like, 'Yeah, okay, I love you.' I'll talk to you later. I hope you have a great night.' Then I hang up and continue learning.”
According to Jennifer and Chris, heart disease runs in their family.
“He was always working on his weight and his health,” Chris told . “And luckily he helped us figure it out for ourselves.”
Jennifer and Chris don't mind if they point out the resemblance between them and their father – they see it too.
“Both my brother and I look like my father at different times,” Jennifer told . “If you look at him when he was younger, that’s Chris. And my father is a little older, that's my face. For me, it was getting in touch with my feminine side when people said, “You look just like your dad,” and I said, “Thanks…?” And then they said, “But you’re way prettier than your dad! “Sometimes my laugh is just like my father’s.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com