Per her wishes, the late reality star was remembered in Hawaiian style as family and friends paddled out from Fort DeRussy Beach and tossed flowers into the ocean to say goodbye to her.
- Jul 1, 2019
AceShowbiz - Mourners gathered at Beth Chapman's favorite place on earth to celebrate her life. On Saturday, June 29, the late reality TV star was honored with a public memorial service at Fort DeRussy Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii per her request.
The memorial service started with a traditional chant and prayer, before family and friends paddled out from Fort DeRussy Beach and tossed flowers into the ocean in her memory. Fans were "asked to bring ocean-friendly loose flowers" and not lei, whose strings can harm marine life.
Beth's husband Duane Chapman a.k.a. Dog the Bounty Hunter delivered a moving speech during the procession. "After my mom died, I said well, 'My mom is in the Earth'... In my tribe, we believe she becomes part of the Earth, the sea, the sky and the rain. Beth is going to be placed here too, she got here before I did, it's my island," he said to the attendees.
Sharing Beth's wishes for her memorial and thanking people who came to send Beth off, he continued, "She said, 'Please, Hawaiian style, Duane Dog Chapman.' I tried to have her call me Dog for so many years. She said, 'Please do this right,' so I appreciate everyone being here. I have to go out on the boat so I can see everybody right, its Hawaiian tradition and style. Thank you all, God bless, Aloha."
Beth's stepdaughter Lyssa Chapman has shared a photo from the memorial service, showing her father walking through the crowd gathered at Fort DeRussy Beach. "Someone wake me up from this awful dream," she captioned the photo. "I have no words. Still in disbelief. Pray for our family, as we lost our strongest member."
"(The memorial) was beautiful and overwhelming, for sure," Misti Manasas, a family friend of the Chapmans, told CNN affiliate KHNL of the memorial. "Hawaii is definitely her heart, and I'm just really grateful that we're able to be a part of it and be here to support the family."
Beth's family is also still planning for a second memorial service in Colorado. The Chapmans have a home in Hawaii and Colorado and the couple often slip their time between the two states.
