Even though death is part of the lifecycle, it’s never easy to lose someone you love. Often, families are left to organize the funeral, hoping they make choices that would’ve pleased the deceased. But sometimes, an individual lets their family know before their passing the type of funeral they want.
The goal is to always be respectful yet carry out the person’s wishes. Fortunately for one guy, his family and friends came together to give him the best send-off ever.
A coordinated effort
When Joe Nowak passed away in the summer of 2011, his family and friends knew what he’d want. Although that entailed playing his favorite song, they took things to another level, in a good way. These people wanted to celebrate Joe’s life rather than mourn his death.
There was a huge turnout
From the volume of people who came to show their respects, there’s no question Joe had touched many lives. Along with family members, the church was full of close friends and even acquaintances.
The song he loved
While Joe loved all kinds of music, one song stood out from all the others — Copperhead Road. Written and recorded by Steve Earle, a popular American country artist, it was first released more than 30 years ago. But it didn’t take long for it to reach number 10 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. As of 2017, this song has sold more than one million copies.
A twisted story
Although Copperhead Road is a twisted tale about moonshine, marijuana, a grandfather and his grandson, and a fiery car crash, what Joe’s friends did at his funeral was exciting and fun. They put on an incredible performance that would’ve made this man proud.
Dancing to the music
With everyone in the church parking lot, the song, Copperhead Road began to play. That’s when a group of Joe’s family members and friends danced their hearts out in remembrance of such an incredible guy.
Come one come all
One of the coolest parts of this is that whether the people were dressed up or dressed down, it didn’t matter. They turned up the heat with a fantastic line dance. Focused on doing a perfect job, they didn’t miss a beat.
In this together
In a video that’s now been viewed more than 1.5 million times, you’ll notice a large group of people standing off to the side. They’re enjoying the dance and honored that Joe’s closest circle would do something so special and memorable for him.
It was a celebration
Of course, Joe’s passing was sad. But instead of making the funeral about his death, these people wanted to celebrate him and the remarkable things he had done in his life. So, that’s what they did. And it was beautiful.
This funeral had a different aura than most
For those who attended, there was a sense of happiness in the air. Some of that was the fact that so many people came but also, Joe got to hear his favorite song one more time. That’s pretty awesome.
People began commenting immediately
As soon as this video was uploaded on the internet, the comments came pouring in. One person had this to say, “This is the way we should send off all our loved ones, with their favorite song and celebrating their life!!!” Another individual posted, “Makes me wish I had known this guy. Must have been a character to have his friends give him a send-off like this.”
There were many more wonderful messages about this funeral. But perhaps the one that hit home the most came from a person who quoted Dr. Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
To see this beautiful gathering, click on the video below.
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