At Beth Chapman‘s memorial service in Aurora, Colorado over the weekend, husband Duane “Dog” Chapman promised to make her proud, saying that “she will never be dead to me.” During the event, which was open to the public and which WGN America streamed on Facebook, Dog gave a heartbreaking speech about his late wife.
“I cannot believe that she’s gone,” he said at the celebration of life through tears. “This is not possible, I want to wake up from a dream.”
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“She will never be dead to me. She is in another place,” he counted, revealing that he plans on continuing the family business and upcoming TV show, Dog’s Most Wanted, without her. “I’m gonna get to heaven and make her proud. She’s gonna say, like she said here, ‘That’s my man right there, that’s big daddy right there.’”
He said he believes Beth will still help them out from beyond, calling her their “angelic drone” on the hunt. In one of their last conversations, Dog admitted Beth was ready to move on to “another place,” but he wasn’t ready to let her.
“She lost a lot of weight, she was down to 119 [lbs.]. She said, ‘Please big daddy, please let me go.’ I said, ‘No, I can’t. I’m not gonna let you go.’ I still haven’t let her go,” he said. “If there’s a God, He won’t let me live that long without her.”
Dog also begged fans to cherish their own loved ones, saying, “If you’re beefin’ with your old lady, stop and kiss her right now. Because you’re gonna feel so bad when he or her are not with you anymore.”
Dog and Beth’s daughter Bonnie also took the stage, giving an emotional testimony of her own.
“I’ve never imagined I would lose my mom at 20,” she began. “I never imagined walking down the aisle without her or her not judging my dress. I never imagined a life without her, it’s really tough now being without her. I’m so thankful she was able to share her life and our family’s life with all of you. The world isn’t going to be the same without my mother.”
Twitter users began writing to Bonnie after her moving speech. “You are such a strong young lady. Your words about your mother made me cry and I know she is so, so proud of you,” one person wrote.
“Beautiful what you shared today about your mom, Beth, Bonnie,” another fan wrote. “You’re a beautiful young woman, and I am sure she was very proud to see who you have become. Thank you for sharing her with us. God bless you, sweetheart.”
