Jodi Gordon announces the death of her beloved father Ray as she shares heartfelt tribute: ‘The most patient, loving, smart and gentle teacher’

Jodi Gordon announced in a heartbreaking Instagram post on Saturday that her father Ray has passed away.

The former Home and Away actress, 38, posted beautiful throwback photos with her father alongside a heartfelt tribute.

In one photo, Jodi’s father is pictured carrying her as a baby while sitting next to her mother.

In another recent photo, the actress posed for the camera while soaking up the sun and sitting next to her father.

“It is with a heavy heart, I would like to share some beautiful moments in memory of my father who passed away yesterday,” she began.

‘You fought the biggest fight, daddy. Your love, humor and joy will be carried with us and by us every day.”

“In the words we speak, in the steps we take, in the songs we sing, in this dance of life you will always shine through.”

‘Thanks for everything. Most of all, thank you for the gift of strength. You taught my brother and I how to walk with our heads held high, how to rise with grace from a fall, how to fight for what we believe in and what is right, and ultimately… to never be fooled to stand.’

She continued, “He always held my hand so tightly, especially when I was nervous. ‘Polly, you have this,’ he would say.’

Jodi said her father was like her “big brother, the most patient, loving, smart, gentle teacher you could ever ask for.”

“The coolest dad, the naughtiest dad, the rock star dad, the classy dad,” the actress continued.

She said her father loved “a beer, a barbecue, a smoke and a laugh”, as well as spending time with family in Queensland, and she will “never forget it”.