Gerrard Kaonga
Richard Simmons sadly died earlier this year, but his brother delighted fans by explaining this rather sweet detail for his funeral.
Funerals can be difficult for anyone who attends them but there can often be moments that bring a smile to your face.
Hearing their favorite song be played, fulfilling a request they made while they were alive, or just a small detail that perfectly encapsulates who they were.
Milton Teagle ‘Richard’ Simmons became a legend and iconic figure as a celebrity fitness instructor, so fans were left heartbroken when he died on July 13 earlier this year, not long after celebrating his 76th birthday.
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The Los Angeles police Department responded to an emergency call from Simmons’ housekeeper at around 10am on Saturday (July 13) and pronounced the fitness guru dead at the scene, as reported by ABC.
The coroner later confirmed that he had died due to complications from a previous day’s fall. His heart disease was also noted as a contributing factor.
Simmons' brother, Lenny Simmons, recently revealed to fans the reasons why they decided for the fitness icon to have his classic outfit underneath his clothes.
Addressing a crowd at his brother’s ceremony of life at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on October 5, Lenny likely put a smile on a lot of fans’ faces when he told them his brother was buried in his iconic fitness outfit.
According to reports, he said: “Just like Clark Kent, underneath his beautiful things that he was wearing, his clothing, [Richard] is wearing a tank top and shorts.
"Why, you ask? Because we think that God has another plan for him and we want to make sure that he was going to be in his normal costume that we all know and love, to help the saints and the angels get into shape.
"So I'm here to say to you that even though he's not here — and I know he's in spirit here tonight — Richard Simmons will forever be sweating with the Holies.”
Now, isn’t that the sweetest thing you have heard all day?
After his death, people took to social media to pay their respects.
One person wrote: "See you in Heaven, Richard," as another penned “I’ll be looking for you and we are sooo dancing to the oldies together - thank you for all you did and all you showed us."
And a third simply wrote: “Always on your terms and forever an icon.”