Despite the number of years that have passed, Rory still feels 100% married to Joey and doesn't see himself dating.
Country singer Rory Feek, 54, and his wife, Joey, were one heck of a team, but four years ago their dreams were shattered when she passed away due to cervical cancer. Feek was left to take care of their two-year-old daughter, Indiana, who has Down Syndrome. He became a single dad at the age of 50 and embraced the changes that came his way. He spends a lot of time with his daughter, for whom he made a school, to keep a promise to his late wife. He also shares what he learned from raising a child with Down Syndrome on his blog, called This life I live, often.
Recently, he spoke to People magazine about some of his experiences with his darling daughter, who he calls Indy. One of the stories he shared showed how they are keeping the memory of Joey alive. A day before the 4th anniversary of Joey's passing, which was on March 4, he said, "Well it is tomorrow, and that’s a big deal. Four years is a long, long time. I mean, that’s the majority of Indiana’s life."
The Grammy-award winner said that he and Indy feel Joey's love everywhere on their farm in Tennessee, from the house his better half decorated to her final resting place under the trees. Joey's grave is in a cemetery, which is a "beautiful place where we walk and spend a lot of time," he said, adding that his daughter likes to lay down before her "mama’s cross and look up at the sky."
"Now every time we leave [the cemetery], she wants to kiss Mama’s cross, every single time," he added. The attachment Indy feels with her mom even though she was only a toddler when the 40-year-old musician left shows that the love for your parents is unconditional.
The country duo Joey+Rory's music also has a big hand in keeping the love and memory alive. Feek narrated an incident that happened recently where they were at a lunch with loved ones and Indiana immediately recognized her mother's voice on the radio, which was playing her song.
"Indiana goes, ‘It’s Mama,'" he said. "Indiana starts singing the song, and I thought, 'No.' I couldn’t really hear it. All of us got really quiet, and it took a lot of work for me to realize that’s Joey. One of our songs was playing on the radio. She’s highly aware of her mama, her mama’s voice, what her mama looks like. She keeps her alive, just like I do," he added.
The 54-year-old father-of-three daughters said that despite four years having passed, he still feels married. "I still feel like I’m 100 percent married and in a full, regular marriage," he told People. "The only difference is that she’s just not around, but it’s a funny thing to feel so complete and not have her here. She was such an amazing gift and filled my life so much that she continues to fill it," the devoted husband added.
He continues to wear his wedding ring since he sees no reason not to. "She’s still wearing hers," he added. When asked whether he would date again, he said that he"can’t really even imagine" dating again. "I’m open to anything God wants to have happen. Absolutely. Do I see it on the horizon? No, but I want what He wants," the country singer said.
For now, this protective dad walks his daughter to the school he built for her on their farm, using $100,000 that was given to them along with prayers after Joey's death, every morning. His late wife always wanted to homeschool Indy but that wasn't possible anymore. "We needed to come up with another plan since Joey wasn’t going to be able to homeschool Indy," he said.
References:
https://people.com/country/rory-feek-keeps-late-wife-joeys-memory-alive-for-daughter-4-years-later/
https://people.com/country/rory-feek-feels-married-4-years-after-wife-joey-death/
