Rory Feek Reflects on Joey Feek's Memorial Service, Thanks Community for Support
Joey Feek died from cervical cancer at the age of 40 earlier this month.
— -- Just a few weeks after Joey Feek's death, Rory Feek is sharing memories from her public memorial service, and thanking his fans for their support.
Joey Feek died on March 4 at age 40, after a 10-month long battle with cervical cancer. The Alexandria-Monroe High School gymnasium in Indiana hosted a memorial service for Joey last week, and Rory and the couple's 2-year-old daughter, Indiana, made a special appearance to publicly pay their respects to the beloved country singer.
Feek has been documenting his and Joey's journey on his blog "This Life I Live" and their Facebook page since May 2014, when Joey was diagnosed with cervical cancer. In a new blog post titled "Our Town," Rory reflected on the memorial service, what Joey's hometown of Alexandria, Indiana, means to him, and how both Joey and Rory's communities have rallied around him and Indiana to support them during this time.
"In the Alexandria High School gymnasium -- the same place where Joey had played basketball and volleyball and cheered for her home team -- a few thousand people gathered together in her honor. But this time, the cheers were all for her," Rory wrote.
Rory noted that "a number of family and friends," including Joey's parents and her sister, paid tribute to the country singer, and the crowd sang one Joey's favorite songs, "Lean on Me," during the emotional service.
"A few minutes before, as Indy was still napping, I sat in the back hallway of the bus and did my best to come up with a few words to say ... to thank this town and to lift up my beautiful bride and this community," Rory wrote. "After I spoke, Indy and I stood and watched a video honoring her mama. It was hard and beautiful to watch at the same time," he added.
Rory, 49, also thanked the community of Joey's hometown for their support while Joey was in hospice care, revealing that he "never paid" for most of his meals during his time in Indiana.
"People just want to help. They feel your hurt and want to share your pain," Rory said. "They made something hard, a little easier."
Rory also noted that since he's been home, he has received the same amount of support from strangers in his own hometown, saying that "the love keeps coming."
"Literally as I am sitting here finishing this post at a breakfast restaurant in Franklin, Tennessee ... I have had a dozen people stop by my table to hug me, tell me they’re praying for my family and or just say they love me and Joey and Indy," Rory said. "And none of them are people that I’ve ever met before."
