Toby Keith‘s wife, Tricia Covel, took the stage to accept the singer’s Country Music Hall of Fame medallion on Sunday (Oct. 20) and admitted she wasn’t sure if she would be able to finish her prepared comments.

Son Stelen Covel stood behind her, cast in blue light as she began speaking. He’s been the de facto family spokesman since Keith’s cancer battle ended in February. Given how quiet Tricia has been in the eight months since, it felt likely that he’d be called in to offer mom a hand.

Everyone in an audience filled with country music luminaries would have understood if her remarks were brief or cut short by tears, but that’s not what happened. The Keith family matriarch talked for 16 minutes! She spoke with a strong voice that only betrayed her near the end.

“There will never be another another Toby Keith,” Tricia shared, speaking to a unique quality her husband possessed that made everyone feel like he or she was a best friend.

“People walk up to me randomly … and shake my hand and say ‘You’re Toby’s wife, aren’t you?’ I say, ‘Yes, I am.’ They say ‘I miss him every day’ and I say, ‘Me too’ and we’re both crying.”

The speech, Tricia revealed, was her first public speech ever. It started with appreciation for the honor and ended with an admission that Keith may not have brought the same kind of “aww shucks” humility to the dais that most brought before him. He knew he belonged there, but died one day too soon to learn it was official.

That bravado sometimes got him in trouble. It certainly brought him criticism.

“He didn’t care what anybody said,” his wife of 40 years remarked. “He was a patriot. He loved his country … Toby loved hard and he lived big. He enjoyed everything he did. He had no regrets.”

Post Malone sang “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight,” Eric Church performed “Don’t Let the Old Man In” and Blake Shelton provided “I Love This Bar” ahead of the speeches. Alabama singer Randy Owen officially made Keith a member, recalling — with tears in his eyes — how hard it was for both of them that the 62-year-old had to miss a taping of CMT Giants: Alabama in January.

Tricia’s job was to accept the honor, pay tribute to the singer and songwriter and convey what he meant to family and friends.

“He was a wonderful husband, father, a son, grandfather or pop-pop to our grandkids,” she said, sniffling just a bit. “Brother, friend, singer, producer, businessman — he was masterful at everything he did.”

“His music, his generosity and his humanity will outlive not only us, but our children and their children,” she added towards the end, after spending a few minutes talking about the importance of the OK Kids Korral, an Oklahoma home for kids battling cancer and life-threatening diseases that Keith founded decades ago when a bandmate had a child in that position.

Keith was the Modern Era Artist inductee for the Country Music Hall of Fame Class of 2024. He was joined by Veterans Era inductee John Anderson and James Burton, who was inducted in the Recording and/or Touring Musician category. Lucinda Williams, Brad Paisley and Keith Richards were a few of the highlight performers for those artists.

To close the ceremony, Tanya Tucker led the traditional performance of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” A gallery of photos from the evening ceremony in Nashville are below.