Josh Duhamel Recalls Being Pulled From ‘Wrong Side of the Tracks’ in Tribute to Late Stepfather
Josh Duhamel is remembering his late stepfather with a sweet tribute that offered a look at the actor’s past.
“Said goodbye today to my step father George Kemper. An incredible man, with a larger than life personality and a laugh that filled the room,” Duhamel, 51, captioned an Instagram post on Monday, April 22. “He pulled my mother Bonny, my sister Ashlee, and myself from the wrong side of the tracks into a life with possibility. He also gave me two other beautiful sisters, McKenzee and Kassidy.”
The Transformers star’s mom, Bonny Kemper, and his father, Larry Duhamel, split when he and his sister Ashlee were young. After Bonny remarried George Kemper, the pair welcomed daughters McKenzee and Kassidy.
“We will miss this man dearly,” Josh concluded his social media post. “Thank you for all you did for us Big George.”
Josh posted a selfie in sunglasses, which appeared to be snapped on an airplane, alongside his memorial message on Monday. He was holding a piece of paper that read: “Celebrating a Life George Kemper 1949 – 2004.”
Kemper owned his own construction company, the Kemper Construction Co., whose logo appeared on the piece of paper Josh was holding, along with The Associated General Contractors logo.
According to his obituary, Kemper died at age 74 on April 9 at his winter home in San Tan Valley, Arizona, following a battle with brain cancer.
"George's personality was as big as his laugh, and everyone knew to whom it belonged. Nobody got the last word in when you were around George because he just left the room when he was done talking,” the obituary read. “George's greatest interest and love was his family.”
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Josh and his sisters were named in the obituary, along with the actor’s wife, Audra Mari, whom he married in September 2022. Both of Josh’s children were also listed as George’s grandkids.
Josh shares son Axl, 10, with ex-wife Fergie. The former couple got married in January 2009 and announced their separation in September 2017. He welcomed his second child, Shepherd, his first with Audra, 30, in January.
Since remarrying, Josh has spoken openly about the relationship between his ex and his current wife, revealing there’s “only” love between them.
“Thankfully Fergie’s an amazing woman, she really is,” he shared on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show in September 2023. “She’s taken Audra in. It could be much worse. That’s the thing, you never know how these things are going to go.”
