40 years ago today, Toby Keith and Tricia Lucus were married. The two tied the knot on March 24, 1984, and remained married until he passed away, from complications of stomach cancer, on February 5.

Keith’s successful country music career hadn’t even begun when the two met at a bar. At the time, Keith was working in the oil fields, but was also fronting a local band, the Easy Money Band.

“I was 19 and he was 20,” Tricia previously told People. “He was just one of those larger-than-life guys, full of confidence.”

Tricia was already a mother to daughter Shelley when they met, whom Keith later adopted. They went on to have two more children, son Stelen and daughter Krystal. It was Tricia who encouraged Keith to continue pursuing music, even when he wasn’t making enough money to support his family in the early days.

“Dozens of people told Tricia, ‘You need to go tell your old man to get a real job,’” Keith once said (via The Boot). “It took a strong-hearted and loving woman to say, ‘He’s good enough at music that I’ve got to let him try. And it’ll be a great shot for both of us if he can make it work.’”

Not surprisingly, it was Tricia who became Keith’s biggest supporter while he was battling cancer.

“Oh, she’s been a trooper. She’s the best nurse,” Keith told News on 6. “The first time we went to Houston, to the hospital, she stepped right in and she just took control and said, ‘We got this. Let’s go.’ So she’s like, ‘We’re going to get this, and don’t worry about it.’”

Keith honored his wife and family when he received the People’s Country Icon Award at the 2023  People’s Choice Country Awards.

“I wanna thank the Almighty for allowing me to be here tonight,” Keith said during his acceptance speech, as his wife looked on with tears in her eyes. “He’s been riding shotgun with me for a little while. I want to thank my beautiful family that’s here. A lot of people go into making a big career like this, of 30 years.”

Keith has been announced as one of the inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year, along with John Anderson and James Burton. The inductee decision was finalized on February 6, the same day Keith’s death was announced.

“This year, we anticipated receiving the names of our final inductees, on Tuesday, February 6,” CMA CEO Sarah Trahern explained. “As we know, we woke up that morning to the heartbreaking news that our friend, Toby Keith, had lost his long battle with stomach cancer. What’s bittersweet is that just a few hours later, our team received word that he had been elected into the Modern Era category. Truly one of the greatest honors of my job is getting to inform these inductees that they are the newest members of the hallowed class.

“My heart sank that Tuesday afternoon, knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us,” she added. “But I have no doubt that he’s smiling down on us, knowing that he’ll always be as good as he once was.”

Stelen spoke on his father’s behalf during the press conference announcing the inductees.

“On behalf of my whole family, we want to thank the Hall of Fame,” he said. “It’s an honor to stand here and represent my father. He was an amazing man, husband, father and artist. I just want to thank everybody for being here.”

A private memorial service was previously held for Keith, with a public memorial scheduled for a later date.