Zak Williams, the eldest child of late comic legend Robin Williams, sent a pair of heartfelt messages to his dad on what would have been his 70th birthday.
Zak Williams posted a photo of his famous father Wednesday on Instagram. In his caption, he celebrated the Oscar-winning actor's "incredible spirit."
"Dad, on what would be your 70th birthday, I would want you to know that your incredible spirit lives within us. Our family will be celebrating you and your memory today. We miss you and love you always!" he wrote.
Zak Williams, 38, shared the same image on Twitter, writing, "Today would be 70. Missing you especially much today. Love you always evermore."
The "Good Will Hunting" star died by suicide at age 63 in 2014 while suffering from Lewy body dementia.
The Hollywood legend shared his son with his first wife, Valerie Velardi. He welcomed a daughter, Zelda Williams, 31, and another son, Cody Williams, 29, with his second wife, Marsha Garces. At the time of his death, the former "Mork & Mindy" star was married to graphic designer Susan Schneider Williams.
Zak Williams opened up earlier this year about the emotions he felt after his dad's suicide during an interview with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry on the pair's Apple TV+ series, "The Me You Can't See."
"From my end it was hard to separate initially the process of privately grieving versus sharing the grieving with the general public, both the American public and the world," he revealed.
Trying to mourn his father privately as his fans were grieving him publicly ended up taking a toll on his mental health.
"I found myself extremely emotionally disregulated and feeling vulnerable and exposed when I wasn't ready to be vulnerable," he said. "And that created a major challenge for me."
The real healing for the father of two came much later — after he learned to take time for himself to process his emotions.
"From my end, I didn't get a chance to focus on the private grieving process until about a year and a half after my dad passed away, meaning that I didn't recognize that I needed to grieve privately," he said.
"I am very thankful and appreciative that I did recognize how to set boundaries."
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.