Justin Bieber mourns death of grandfather: 'Will miss u'

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Justin Bieber has paid tribute to his grandfather, Bruce Dale, following his death at the age of 80.

Dale died at the Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth on April 24, according to an online obituary posted by the Young Funeral Home.

In an Instagram post featuring a throwback snap of the two from 2009, Bieber, 31, lovingly recalled spending time with his grandad.

“Papa, I always took all ur money lol. I remember u specifically telling me, gramma gave u an allowance of 20 dollars for the WEEK! I would always convince you to spend on snacks at the hockey game on Friday nights. Reluctantly you always gave it to me,” he shared with his 295 million Instagram followers.

Writing about how his grandfather spoiled him by buying “corn nuts, skittles, gum balls, chuck a puck, slush puppies,” Bieber gave a glimpse into what their night outs at the hockey rink entailed.

“Shout out to the jr b referees Beatty, Fagon, Flanagan lmfao. For enduring all of my grandpa’s heckling for all of your horrible referee calls lmfao. My grandpa wasn’t shy in letting them know that they were being pieces of s—s,” the pop star wrote.

The Peaches singer, who lashed out at paparazzi on social media for filming his every move last week, also said, “I can’t wait to see u again soon in heaven.”

He added, “Until then I know ur watching down probly still heckling Beatty or Fagon for missing that cross check call in the corner there lmfao.”

Bieber concluded his heartfelt post by addressing his grandfather directly: “I will miss u. I will ache. And I’ll sit and let myself remember all of the wonderful times we’ve had.”

According to his online obituary, Dale “passed away peacefully” in Stratford, Ont. and is survived by his four children —Candie Toper, Chris Mallette, Chris Dale and Pattie Mallette (Bieber’s mother) — three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, including Bieber’s son Jack Blues Bieber, whom he shares with his wife Hailey.

In a February 2018 interview at the Steps to Stardom Exhibition at Stratford Perth Museum in Bieber’s hometown, Dale spoke about his relationship with his grandson.

“I can sit and talk with anybody about anything, but when it comes to talking about him, I just get emotional,” he said at the time.

The news of Dale’s death comes as Bieber lashed out a paparazzi for relentlessly hounding him when he’s out in public.

The two-time Grammy winner took to Instagram to let his fans know he won’t be “bullied” as he spoke about the “transactional nature of Hollywood.”

“Everyone telling me to move from La,” he wrote in a message posted last Friday. “U think I’m gonna get bullied to leave where my influence is most needed? How can we make a change if we run away from the darkness?”

His post followed a viral video in which he lashed out at photographers saying all they care about is “money, money, money, money, money.”

Bieber’s mental health has also been a question of concern after his name was brought up in connection with the alleged sex crimes of rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

“Justin is in a hard place mentally right now,” an insider told Us Weekly last fall. “He has such a history with Diddy and the allegations against him have been hard to process.”

But despite his troubles, Bieber’s wife Hailey paid tribute to him during her recent honour for her skincare brand at the Daily Front Row’s 9th annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards.

“I want to thank my husband for supporting this dream of mine from the beginning and for always cheering me on. Thank you,” she said from the stage.

mdaniell@postmedia.com