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Chick-fil-A CEO writes heartfelt letter about tragic loss of family members

Thomas and Pamela Mayo were on their way to the movies when they died.

No one is ever ready for tragedy, but as Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy writes, sometimes it hits "with brute force.”

Cathy says tragedy struck July 29 when his wife's sister and her husband, Pam and Scott Mayo, were killed in a crash on their way to the movies. The crash happened on Highway 54 at Highway 34 in Sharspburg.

In a letter posted on LinkedIn, Cathy said he and his wife Rhonda are broken, but he wants to take the time to share his journey of grief and what he has learned through the heartbreaking loss.

“I’m reminded of the preciousness of life and how we all experience that preciousness through our relationships on this earth,” he wrote.

Cathy shares how the moments that make up those relationships are ones of laughter, tears, play, work, tension, relief, brokenness and blessedness.

He writes that during this time of heaviness, there is also preciousness.

“In the preciousness of this moment, I’m learning that it’s the little things in times of grief that matter most,” he wrote.

Cathy says that the weight his wife now carries is one that he must also endure because they are one flesh.

“She needs be to be there, just holding her hand. It’s the simplest, yet most profound gesture I can make for her at this moment,” he said.

Cathy said in a world full of distractions, the most important thing we can do is be there for each other.

“We experience a strange richness and beauty when we experience life together. And be it joy or grief, the times together remain precious – they make us who we are,” he wrote.

Read the full letter here.

Dear Friends, Who is ever ready for tragedy? On July 29, 2017 my wife’s sister Pam and her husband, Scott, were on...

Posted by Dan T Cathy on Wednesday, August 16, 2017