Before Beth Chapman died at the age of 51 on June 26, she made sure to leave behind some solid instructions about how she wanted to be properly “sent off” from her two favorite locations. The wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman, 66, sat down with her kids, including Dominic Davis, 34, Cecily Chapman, 26, Bonnie Chapman, 20, Garry Chapman, 18, on multiple occasions during her battle with throat cancer, and let them know she wanted to have funerals in both her home state of Colorado and Hawaii, where she and Dog had made a home together, according to a source at TMZ. Although the it wasn’t easy for her kids to talk to her about the plans at the time, they’re all glad they did now and are able to carry out her wishes.
Beth is expected to have those two memorials in both Colorado and Hawaii, with the latter taking place on June 29. The Hawaiian send-off will be held at Fort DeRussy Beach in Waikiki and will include some pretty amazing traditions, including a Hawaiian chant known as an oli, as well as a prayer and paddle out with her family and friends. The public is also invited to partake in the touching service. TMZ also reported that Dog is still in the process of putting together her second memorial in Colorado.
Beth passed away after being put in a medically-induced coma at the hospital on June 22. She checked into the medical facility because she was having trouble breathing, a complication of the throat cancer she was battling. She was first diagnosed in Sept. 2017 and became cancer-free after having surgery to remove a tumor, but in Nov. 2018, she revealed the cancer had come back. Before her latest hospitalization before her death, she was hospitalized in Apr. for breathing issues but recovered.
In addition to her own four kids, including Bonnie and Garry, who she shares with Dog, she was also the stepmother to Dog’s many children, including Lyssa Chapman, 32, with whom she reportedly ended a feud with before her death.