Lucy Hale Announces Father Preston Hale's Death at 68, Shares Instagram Tribute

Q: What final 'parting gift' did Lucy Hale believe her father gave her from beyond the grave?

Lucy Hale said her father’s final “parting gift” was making sure she was not alone when the news of his death arrived. She explained that her sister, Maggie, happened to be visiting her in Los Angeles when they got the call that Preston Hale had died. Lucy said she believed that was something “only God and my dad could have orchestrated,” because he knew she needed her sister with her in that moment. In Hale’s account, the gift was not a material one but the comfort of Maggie’s presence during the first shock of grief.

Q: How did a Tennessee cotton farmer's life shape his famous Hollywood daughter?

Preston Hale’s life as a Tennessee cotton farmer appears to have given Lucy Hale the values and perspective that grounded her long before Hollywood did. In her tribute, Lucy Hale described her father as a “true Southern man” who was funny, sensitive and deeply kind, and who took enormous pride in farming and in his hometown of Milan, Tennessee. His career spanned corporate cotton management with Dunavant Cotton and later years with Shoaf Farms, tying his life to the discipline, uncertainty and physical labor of agriculture. That background helped shape Lucy Hale’s public understanding of hard work and humility. She has spoken about being grateful for a “very, very humble upbringing” and for “very hardworking parents,” a mindset that fits the rhythms of farm life, where success depends on persistence, weather, timing and manual effort. Her father’s example also seems to have reinforced a strong sense of family loyalty and emotional steadiness; in mourning him, she emphasized their “deep soul bond,” his unconditional love and the lessons he gave her. His influence also extended beyond personal values. Reports linking Hale’s upbringing to her work with the World Food Programme suggest that growing up close to farming gave her a practical appreciation of where food comes from and why agricultural labor matters. In that sense, Preston Hale did not shape his daughter’s fame directly, but he helped shape the character, gratitude and social awareness she carried into it.

3 articles · Updated · E! NEWS · Jul 21

Preston Hale died July 17 at age 68, Lucy Hale said in a July 20 Instagram post announcing her father's sudden death.
Hale described him as funny, kind and devoted to family, saying he loved farming, fishing, hunting and his hometown of Milan, Tennessee.
Her tribute said her sister Maggie was visiting her in Los Angeles when they got the call, sparing her from receiving the news alone.
Hale said her spirituality is helping her grieve and that she believes her father will remain present through signs, memories and laughter.