Rory Feek Remembers Joey On Mother’s Day
"Though my beautiful wife sleeps in a bed of clover behind our farmhouse, we still celebrate her on this special day and lift her up and give her flowers," Rory Feek shared.
Today, as millions of families come together to celebrate Mother’s Day, Rory Feek is remembering his late wife, Joey.
The singer/songwriter knows what it’s like to be a single dad. In fact, he raised daughters Heidi and Hopie, who are now 29 and 27 respectively, alone for more than a decade. Now, after Joey’s March 4 passing, Feek is wearing the single parent hat again.
In a blog post shared today, Feek recalled the moment he and Joey learned that her cancer treatments were no longer working.
“Joey sat beside me on a glider on our back deck and cried and cried. But not because of the news that the cancer had spread and there was nothing more the doctors could do,” he explained. “She cried because Indy was going to lose her mama, and I was going to be a single father again.”
“Joey knew how hard it had been for us for all those years before she came along and she was upset that she was going to leave me in the same situation,” Feek continued. “I remember her tears falling and her saying, ‘I don’t want you to have to raise a child again by yourself… it’s not fair.’ Though I was worried about the reality of what was probably in our future, I tried to smile as I wiped Joey’s tears and said, ‘it’s okay honey… now we know why God chose me to be with you.’ I realized then that God knew what was in store and all those years by myself with the girls was Him preparing me for the job of caring for Indiana.”
While he admits they were both disappointed, they did the only thing they knew to do: pray.
“We never cried over that again,” he shared. “We just celebrated everyday that we were given together, and tried our best to prepare for the day when those days together would be no more.”
Joey was laid to rest on the couple’s property in Maury County, Tennessee just days after she passed. So today, on Mother’s Day, her family is remembering her the best way they know how.
“Though my beautiful wife sleeps in a bed of clover behind our farmhouse, we still celebrate her on this special day and lift her up and give her flowers. This is not my day. It is hers. Joey loved being a mother more than anything else in the world. And she is still Indy’s mama. And Heidi’s and Hopie’s.”
Rory closed his post by thanking Joey for the “beautiful gift” of Indy.
