Family and friends of the late Beth Chapman, star of “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” celebrated the Christmas holiday without their matriarch for the first time since the wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman died in June at age 51 following a debilitating bout with lung cancer.
On Christmas Day, Beth’s stepdaughter, Lyssa Chapman, whom many refer to as "Baby Lyssa" on the long-running A&E reality TV series, shared an emotional message to her stepmother, along with a throwback image of the longtime fugitive finder.
"Nothing is the same without you. Merry Christmas in Heaven @mrsdog4real 🎄🎁 I bet you have the biggest tree ever," Lyssa captioned the tribute post.
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She also shared a note to her Twitter followers for their support during the family’s harrowing ordeal and over the holidays.
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"My Twitter family makes me feel like I have a whole other family,” she wrote. “Thank you all, your words and kindness mean the world to me.”
With many of the family still in bereavement following the death of Beth Chapman, Duane Chapman told Entertainment Tonight last Wednesday of the family’s quiet holiday plans.
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"For the holidays, probably half of us, including me, will be in Colorado, and then the other half is in Hawaii, and of course Leland [his son] is in Alabama," he said. "So this year, everybody's all spread out."
The 66-year-old bounty hunter also said he would be keeping his wife's spirit alive by maintaining her yearly traditions.
"Beth was old style, old-fashioned. So, you know, that means the tree and the presents. All the stockings hung up... So I'm trying to keep that exact tradition," Chapman said.
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"I've got it all decorated. All the stockings are hung. We always left -- when the kids were young -- cookies for Santa, and I think I'll do that this year also," he added.