Burt Reynolds’ Ex-Wife Loni Anderson And Son Quinton Attend Private Memorial Service For Late Actor
Burt Reynolds’ ex-wife, Loni Anderson, and their adopted son, Quinton Reynolds, joined about 80 other close friends and family members for a private memorial service for the late actor in his beloved Florida, USA Today is reporting.
About 80 people turned up at Quattlebaum Funeral Home in North Palm Beach to pay their respects to the Smokey And The Bandit actor, who died September 6 at the age of 82. The ceremony was closed to the public.
Burt Reynolds considered Florida his home. He graduated from high school there, went to college there, owned property there, and died there. And his Thursday memorial service reflected his Florida roots: the service was opened with a prayer and a eulogy by former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden.
A spokesperson for the family, speaking anonymously, said that Loni and Quinton both spoke at the ceremony. It has not been revealed what either of them said, however.
Meanwhile, according to documents obtained by the media, Reynolds was cremated. It is not clear where his ashes were scattered.
Reynolds and Anderson married in 1988 and they divorced in 1993. During that time they adopted a son, Quinton.
Reynolds and Anderson’s relationship was volatile, and even more so was their divorce.
Loni Anderson speaks at private memorial for Burt Reynolds https://t.co/PlyB8yyEud pic.twitter.com/TQw3GABDfN
— CanoeShowbiz (@JamShowbiz) September 22, 2018
As The L.A. Times reported earlier this month, their ugly divorce played out largely in the press, as the two publicly traded insults with each other via the media. For example, Reynolds famously quipped that he and Loni had not had sex for the final three years of their marriage – a fact which belied Loni’s claim that the divorce papers caught her by surprise.
“I don’t see how she can be in total shock when you have not … if your husband has not touched you in the biblical sense … in almost three years,” he said. “How can you be surprised?”
The divorce also cost Reynolds dearly in a financial sense. In fact, it took nearly 22 years for the dust to settle on the divorce and its financial matters in particular.
Caught in the middle of it all was their adopted son, Quinton. As is often the case with nasty divorces in which a child is involved, Quinton found himself gravitating towards his mother. By some accounts, Quinton and his dad didn’t speak to each other for years if not decades. However, by the end of Burt’s life, it appeared the two had patched things up.
However, as reported by the Inquisitr, Burt apparently left Quinton out of his will. But that may not have been done out of spite: in the will, Reynolds made it clear that he had provided amply for his son via a trust fund. The value of that trust fund is not clear.
