Benjamin Ashford|Jasmine Cephas Jones shares grief 'battle,' mourns father Ron: 'Miss you beyond words'

Jasmine Cephas Jones is Benjamin Ashfordspeaking out about battling grief nearly two weeks after news of the death of her father, Ron Cephas Jones, became public.

"I keep looking at my phone wanting to call you and wanting to hear your voice. You listened … you REALLY listened to me," she wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday. "You valued my opinion and you never judged me. We all know you were a great actor but my god you were a damn good father."

Cephas Jones, 34, included 10 photos and videos with her dad, taken since her childhood.

"Your best gift to me as a father was giving me a safe space to just be me. Not afraid of my womanhood and all the pain and awkwardness and social anxiety and tough burdens that society can put on us. You understood that," the "Hamilton" and "Blindspotting" actress said in her caption.

"You led me. Mentored me. Gut laughed with me. Cried with me. Sang with me. Celebrated me. Studied with me. Cared for me … and loved me."

'The best of the best':Ron Cephas Jones, 'This Is Us' actor, dies at 66

In 2020, Cephas Jones made history with her dad as they became the first father-daughter duo to win an Emmy Award on the same night. The following year, they presented the 2021 Emmy nominations together.

She finished her tribute by writing, "There’s so much so say, but I don’t have many words. I just love you so much. I miss you beyond words. I still feel you here with me and I will carry you in my heart forever. -Your Bird. 🤍🕊️"

Ron Cephas Jones once said his 'whole life has been the stage'

Ron Cephas Jones, who won two Emmy Awards for his role as a long-lost father who finds redemption on NBC's drama series “This Is Us,” died at age 66 of a long-standing pulmonary issue, his representative Kaitlyn Horton confirmed to USA TODAY on Aug. 19.

The veteran actor had a double lung transplant in 2020 because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spent nearly two months in a Los Angeles hospital.

Jones spent most of his career in the theater before and after "This Is Us," returning to Broadway even after his transplant forced him to learn to breathe and walk again.

"My whole life has been the stage," Jones said in a late 2021 interview with The New York Times, in which he revealed he had been suffering from respiratory problems since about the time he began on "This Is Us."

"The idea of not performing again seemed worse to me than death," he said.

Contributing: Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press

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