Kris Kristofferson leaves behind his wife, Lisa Meyers, who supported him throughout his career and during his health challenges. Learn more about his widowed partner here.

The singer, songwriter and actor, who died on Saturday at 88, found his way into situations and tales that underscored his role as a conscience for country music.

From accomplishments in music and film, to role as a family man, take a look back at Kris Kristofferson's life and career in photos

We look at nearly a dozen No. 1 hits the late Kris Kristofferson earned during his career, as a songwriter and/or artist.

After years as a struggling songwriter, he found his voice with a direct, evocative style that launched his decades-long career as a musician, actor and activist.

Imagine writing a song as good as “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” It must have felt like building the Brooklyn Bridge with your bare hands. “There’s something in a Sunday that makes a body feel alone,” the ballad’s demolished narrator sings through his hangover as he embarks on a weekend stroll in the direction of the void.

The country singer and songwriter, who died on Saturday at 88, tucked enduring aphorisms into tales about facing up to loss.

Hell,” he offers rurally, “wouldn’t surprise me none you said it was blood.” Kris Kristofferson, Songwriter Whose Poetic Lyrics Transcended Genre, Dead at 88 One had gone there to write about the making,