Days after Beth Chapman, 51, passed away following a long battle with cancer, her husband, Duane “Dog The Bounty Hunter” Chapman, 66, gathered with their family on Fort DeRussy Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii to bid one final farewell. The memorial, which was open to the public, consisted of a traditional Hawaiian ‘Oli chant, followed by a prayer and then, a paddle out to the ocean. Duane gave a moving eulogy going between sadness and joy, revealing that Beth told him to do her memorial “right.”
Mourners were asked to bring along ocean-friendly flowers that could be tossed in the water in tribute. “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,” a press release about the event read, per Yahoo, while indicating that there will be a second funeral for Beth on the mainland. “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 #alohaoemrsdog.
The world lost Beth on June 26. She was first diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in September 2017, and after a few months of treatment, Duane revealed that his wife’s cancer had gone into remission. Sadly, doctors would discover that her disease had returned a year later. In November 2018, Beth underwent an emergency procedure after she had difficulty breathing. The surgery would reveal not only that her cancer was back, but it had also spread. Beth was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, but despite the grim prognosis, she never lost her optimistic spirit. “Another bend in the road, yet not the End of the road,” she captioned an Instagram photo taken from her hospital bed.
After being diagnosed, Beth continued to live her life to the fullest. Though there would be bumps in the road – she and stepdaughter Lyssa Chapman would clash before burying the hatchet – she stayed true to herself to the very end. “When she had an attack, I didn’t know anything to do but to say, ‘In Jesus name,’ and hold her. And when I said, ‘In Jesus name,’ she said, ‘Say it again, say it again,” Dog said when speaking to reporters for the first time after his wife’s death. “And then she told the girls and everybody… [she] said, ‘I love you. Are you guys alright? Don’t worry.’ But she never accepted [death].”