John Stamos Continues Honoring Late 'Full House' Co-Star Bob Saget With Release of Funeral Speech

After unexpectedly dying at the age of 65, comedian Bob Saget was laid to rest at a private funeral in Los Angeles on Jan. 17. Guests included his family, friends, and Full House castmates, and his best friend and co-star John Stamos gave the eulogy. As a final tribute to Saget, Stamos published the full funeral speech in the Los Angeles Times. "My Bob," Stamos began. "I'm not ready to accept that he's gone. I'm not going to say goodbye yet."

Stamos recounted how he believed Saget's last day had gone, focusing on his love of making his audiences laugh and his deep devotion to his family and friends. "When I saw his last Instagram post, my first thought was he looked too 'alive' to die a few hours later. But I guess that's right. We should all want to 'die alive,'" Stamos said. "We don't want to be filled with regret and remorse, forgotten and discarded. We want to be overwhelmed with the privilege and bounty of doing what we do best. Bob felt young, energized, grateful and appreciated. The applause and laughter didn't have time to die down before Bob did. He never ran out of cake … or the other stuff. He died bright and fierce."

"It's hard to explain who Bob was to me personally without understanding that he's your Bob too," Stamos continued. "The worldwide ocean of love for him has been unbelievable. Though it's been hard for me to look at the tributes, stories, magazine covers, millions of social media posts, I feel everyone out there is getting it right, saying the perfect thing, remembering Bob in these remarkable ways."

"I just wish he knew how much the world loved him when he was here," Stamos admitted. "I spent many a night trying to convince him of how loved he really was (or maybe it was the other way around — him trying to convince me how loved he was). But that was just Bob bluster. There's no way he thought his death would have this kind of impact. This is the kind of coverage that speaks to someone who genuinely connected with people, and not just for a moment, but for generations."

Stamos continued making jokes about Saget's filthy wit before saying that "one of the great honors of my life is being associated with him at this moment in time." Stamos also thanked people for the outpouring of support that he had received considering his 35-year friendship with Saget. "I've gotten thousands of texts, emails, and calls speaking to our 35-year friendship, telling me how sorry they were for my loss," Stamos said. "People have even sent flowers like I lost my wife or something. Come to think of it, when we were together, we were like an old, married couple: all bickering, no sex."

Stamos recounted stories about how, despite their differences, their friendship flourished for decades. He also opened up about the pain that he's gone through since Saget's death. Ultimately, he knows that Saget has found peace. "I've spent days refusing to let him go. But now I'm starting to realize I don't have to," Stamos said. "I don't have to say goodbye because he's never leaving my heart. 
And I will continue to talk to him every day and let him know what he means to me."

"Bob, I will never, ever have another friend like you. You will always be my best friend. You are my new guardian angel — a guardian angel with the dirtiest mouth and a heart as big and benevolent as forever," Stamos concluded. "I love you, Baby." His full speech can be read here.