Chuck Norris Pays Tribute To Ex-Wife Dianne Holechek After Her Death At 84

Actor Chuck Norris shared a heartfelt tribute to his ex-wife, Dianne Holechek, who died at 84 after battling dementia. Norris and Holechek met in high school and got married in 1958 at the ages of 18 and 17, respectively. After having two kids, Mike and Eric, and being married for three decades, they announced their divorce.

Norris took to Facebook to pay tribute to his ex-wife alongside a family photo of the two of them with their children. He acknowledged how “deeply saddened” he felt to share this tragic news. Despite their divorce, they remained good friends, with Norris adding that “those years of friendship meant the world to me.”

The actor went on to call Holechek an “incredible person” who was “kind, intelligent and lived life to the fullest.” He’ll never be able to forget how much her presence impacted his life.

Even though their marriage didn’t work out, Norris and Holechek were still able to “care deeply” for each other. As a result, the memories that Norris has of their years together will be “cherish[ed] ” forever.“

He added that Holechek was also a “loving and devoted mother” to their two sons, Eric and Mike, who revealed to TMZ that their mother passed away at her Texas home. The family admitted they were “thankful” she was no longer suffering.

“I am deeply saddened to share that my ex wife, Dianne, has passed away. After being married for 30 years, we were able to find a way to remain close friends, and those years of friendship meant the world to me.

Dianne was an incredible person. She was kind, intelligent, and lived life to the fullest. Her presence in my life will never be forgotten. She was also a loving and devoted mother to our sons, Mike and Eric, who were always her greatest pride.

Even as our lives took different directions, we continued to care deeply for one another, and I will forever cherish the memories we built together.”

After Norris posted his tribute, his son Mike replied to the Facebook post by thanking his father and saying, “I love you.”

“Thank you dad. That was beautiful. I love you.”

Norris served in the U.S. Air Force from 1958 to 1962, which were during the early years of his marriage to Holechek. After being discharged, he ventured into the world of martial arts and went on to win the World Professional Middleweight Karate Championship multiple times and the All-American Karate Championship.

He then transitioned into being a movie star. While married to Holechek, Norris starred in such movies as The Way of the Dragon, The Student Teachers, Breaker! Breaker!, Good Guys Wear Black, A Force of One, The Octagon, An Eye for an Eye, Silent Rage, Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action, Code of Silence and The Delta Force.

After he and Holechek separated, Norris continued his acting career, including starring on the hit CBS TV show Walker, Texas Ranger, which aired for nine seasons and spawned an entire franchise, including the movie Trial by Fire and spinoff Sons of Thunder. A reboot called Walker ran for four seasons on The CW.

More recently, the actor has appeared in the second Expendables film, Agent Recon, Zombie Plane, The Goldbergs and the Hawaii Five-0 reboot. He also appeared as himself in the video game Crime Boss: Rockay City.

A decade after divorcing Holechek, Chuck Norris went on to wed Gena O’Kelley, and they had two kids (twins Dakota and Danilee) of their own. He found out in 1991 that he also had a daughter from a secret relationship he had while serving in the Air Force and still married to Holechek.