Beth Chapman’s Family Bids Farewell to ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’ Star in Hawaiian Memorial

Beth Chapman’s family, friends and fans gathered to pay tribute to the late reality star in Hawaii. Three days after her tragic death after a long battle with cancer, the family hosted the service at Fort DeRussy Beah in Waikiki, where Duane “Dog” Chapman and many others gathered.

The ceremony began at 2 p.m. local time and included some Hawaiian customs. According to TMZ, the traditional oli chant was performed and the crowd engaged in a prayer.

Duane also reportedly spoke during the ceremony, thanking fans and friends who came to pay respects to his wife, and sharing why the island was so special to Beth.

The event had a large crowd, making it clear Duane honored Beth’s wish to have the event open to the public. The family is also set to host another memorial service in Colorado at a later date.

Watch video footage, released by the outlet, here.

“Beth had two homes – Hawai’i and Colorado. ‘I love Hawai’i the most,’ she said, so she will be sent off in true Hawaiian style, with aloha,” the press release for the Hawaii memorial service read.

“Duane Chapman is also finalizing plans for a memorial service in Colorado, and details will be announced shortly. Those wishing to post photos and videos are asked to tag with [aloha oe mrs dog].”

The release explained that ‘Oe means ‘you’ in Hawaiian and that it’s customary to say “Aloha ‘Oe” especially when saying goodbye. “There is a song by the same name which Hawaiians often sing at the end of a party, funerals, or when people are leaving the islands,” the release reads.

Duane announced the news of his wife’s passing Wednesday, a few days after she was hospitalized in Hawaii after a “choking” incident. After being a medically-induced coma for days, she died surrounded by her family.

“It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,” he wrote in a tweet posted shortly before noon eastern. “Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.”

Speaking to Hawaiian press, Dog shared what happened during Beth’s final minutes before her passing.

“One of the last things she said [was], ‘This is a test of my faith.’ She had faith and then that was it,” he said. “… There’s things you go through when you’re dying, like steps. Like you do when you lose someone. You get mad at them and then you go through all these steps. Well, the last step when you’re dying is to accept it. And she said to me the other day, ‘Honey, that last step I ain’t taking.’ Go Bethy.”

“She did it her way. There’s some things [I can’t say], you know, I have a network and a contract, but there’s some things that they predicted that the doctors ended up saying, ‘We’ve never, ever seen anything like this,’” Duane said, talking about his WGN America reality show, Dog’s Most Wanted, he continued, “…She wanted to live so bad and she fought so long. And the reason she fought, she liked life, but she wanted to show people how to beat it and what to do when it got her.”