Suzanne Somers was laid to rest with a deeply personal item. The late actress' husband, Alan Hamel, shares the touching reason she was buried in a pair of hiking boots rather than designer shoes.
"Suzanne never really had boots designed for hiking on the rocks, so I ordered the Timberland boots," Hamel tells People. "[I] made my gift personal by drawing on them in a few words that represented our life to some degree and made them very personal to Suzanne."
The 87-year-old said that his wife owned "every Manolo Blahnik ever made" but that it would "have been predictable but not very personal" to have her wear them "for her final trip."
He shared, "Every time she put on the Timberlands, she said, 'I am wearing you, and my boots will keep me safe.'"
Hamel explained that Somers wore her boots as part of the couple's daily hiking routine, as they'd travel two hours to the top of a mountain "where there was a creek and a large flat rock in the middle of the creek."
"By the time we got there," he said, "the rock had been warmed by the morning sun."
Then, the duo "would have our lunch on the rock and then take a one-hour nap on the rock and then hike back down and go to work."
Somers died on Oct. 15, one day before her 77th birthday, at her Palm Springs home amid a hard-fought battle with breast cancer. According to a statement from her publicist, the Three's Company alum was "surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family" at the time of her passing.
According to a death certificate for the star, Somers' immediate cause of death was listed as "breast cancer with metastasis to the brain" with underlying conditions of hypertension and hydrocephalus contributing to her death.
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure and hydrocephalus indicates a buildup of fluid in the brain.
People reports that Somers' life and legacy were celebrated on Nov. 30 in a private event for her closest friends and family members. A second memorial will reportedly take place in her hometown of San Bruno, California, this week.
Shortly after Somers' death, Hamel paid tribute to her memory and revealed that he still feels her presence in the home they shared together.
"We were perfectly matched from the day we met 55 years ago and for the past 42 years, we have never spent even one hour apart," Hamel said on Facebook Live. "It was the greatest thing of my life, and I know it was the greatest thing of Suzanne's life as well."
Hamel went on to say that he and Somers were "two peas in a pod" before noting somberly, "That life is over now."
"I still feel her presence here," he continued. "She is somewhere. I don't know where, I know she's here."
ET recently spoke to Hamel and Somers' son, Bruce Somers, who touched on her lasting impact.
"I think yesterday we were in a bubble, and it was it was special to all be together," Bruce shared at the time. "Today, the overwhelming outpouring of love from everyone is heartfelt, but it's a whole additional wave of emotion as well."
He continued, "Yesterday, she was just mom, and today she's back to being Suzanne Somers in everyone's eyes. And I appreciate that. And I appreciate everything that she's done. She has touched so many people."
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