Dog the Bounty Hunter Gives Emotional Speech at Beth Chapman’s Memorial Service

Credit: WGN America

Dog the Bounty Hunter Gives Emotional Speech at Beth Chapman's Memorial Service

A difficult time. Family, friends and fans of Beth Chapman paid their respects to the late reality star on Saturday, July 13, in a public memorial service in Aurora, Colorado. [ami-related id="1383294" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/dog-the-bounty-hunter-and-beth-chapman-through-the-years/" title="Dog the Bounty Hunter and Beth Chapman Through the Years" target="_blank" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Dog-and-Beth-6.jpg"] The emotional, two-hour public event took place at the Heritage Christian Center. Her husband, Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman sat on stage with his signature sunglasses while friends and family members spoke about the TV personality. Speakers included friend Shannon Tweed (Gene Simmons' wife), sons Garry Chapman and Dakota Chapman and daughter Bonnie Chapman. "No one will ever be a bounty hunter in heels like she was," Bonnie said of her mother. "No one will be as great of a mom as she was." Dog gave a long speech towards the end of the two-hour service, almost breaking down as he said, "I can't believe she's gone." "She was so gorgeous," he told the crowd. "People would say that and she wouldn’t never believe it, but I told her all the time she is gorgeous, she was so pretty." He later introduced his pastor, who officiated the pair's wedding in 2006, explaining that when it came time to settle on the vows, Beth made him take out the "till death do us part" section "because you're not off the hook!" The Dog the Bounty Hunter star died at the age of 51 on June 26 after battling cancer. Her husband, Dog, announced the news of her death in a Twitter post. “It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,” he wrote at the time. “Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.” The reality star was first diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in September 2017, and while she declared she was cancer-free two months later, the disease returned the following year. In November 2018, doctors found that the cancer had spread to her lungs after she underwent emergency surgery. A press release announced the specifics of the public memorial service earlier this week: “Attendees are encouraged to dress comfortably,” it stated on Wednesday, July 10. “Since this is a public event and safety and security is a top priority, please be aware that there will be an enhanced police presence to ensure safety of all attendees and bags will be subject to search.” Fans were able to livestream the funeral on WGNAmerica.com and on Dog’s Facebook page. A smaller memorial service took place for Beth at Fort DeRussy Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii, in June, and included Hawaiian chants and prayers before the family took to the water in an outrigger canoe and spread some of her ashes along with flowers. [jwplayer tLRhbpKH-l3ahXupL] Days before the Colorado service, the former bail bondsman broke down in tears while opening up about his current emotional state. “[With any] new experience that you have, you don’t know how you’re doing because you’ve never experienced it,” he told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, July 10. “I have a lot of people who depend on me. All my supervisors said, ‘Dog, it’s time to man up.’ So I’m trying to man up.” Scroll down for more from Beth's memorial service.

Credit: WGN America

Dog the Bounty Hunter Gives Emotional Speech at Beth Chapman's Memorial Service

A difficult time. Family, friends and fans of Beth Chapman paid their respects to the late reality star on Saturday, July 13, in a public memorial service in Aurora, Colorado. [ami-related id="1383294" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/dog-the-bounty-hunter-and-beth-chapman-through-the-years/" title="Dog the Bounty Hunter and Beth Chapman Through the Years" target="_blank" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Dog-and-Beth-6.jpg"] The emotional, two-hour public event took place at the Heritage Christian Center. Her husband, Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman sat on stage with his signature sunglasses while friends and family members spoke about the TV personality. Speakers included friend Shannon Tweed (Gene Simmons' wife), sons Garry Chapman and Dakota Chapman and daughter Bonnie Chapman. "No one will ever be a bounty hunter in heels like she was," Bonnie said of her mother. "No one will be as great of a mom as she was." Dog gave a long speech towards the end of the two-hour service, almost breaking down as he said, "I can't believe she's gone." "She was so gorgeous," he told the crowd. "People would say that and she wouldn’t never believe it, but I told her all the time she is gorgeous, she was so pretty." He later introduced his pastor, who officiated the pair's wedding in 2006, explaining that when it came time to settle on the vows, Beth made him take out the "till death do us part" section "because you're not off the hook!" The Dog the Bounty Hunter star died at the age of 51 on June 26 after battling cancer. Her husband, Dog, announced the news of her death in a Twitter post. “It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,” he wrote at the time. “Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.” The reality star was first diagnosed with stage II throat cancer in September 2017, and while she declared she was cancer-free two months later, the disease returned the following year. In November 2018, doctors found that the cancer had spread to her lungs after she underwent emergency surgery. A press release announced the specifics of the public memorial service earlier this week: “Attendees are encouraged to dress comfortably,” it stated on Wednesday, July 10. “Since this is a public event and safety and security is a top priority, please be aware that there will be an enhanced police presence to ensure safety of all attendees and bags will be subject to search.” Fans were able to livestream the funeral on WGNAmerica.com and on Dog’s Facebook page. A smaller memorial service took place for Beth at Fort DeRussy Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii, in June, and included Hawaiian chants and prayers before the family took to the water in an outrigger canoe and spread some of her ashes along with flowers. [jwplayer tLRhbpKH-l3ahXupL] Days before the Colorado service, the former bail bondsman broke down in tears while opening up about his current emotional state. “[With any] new experience that you have, you don’t know how you’re doing because you’ve never experienced it,” he told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, July 10. “I have a lot of people who depend on me. All my supervisors said, ‘Dog, it’s time to man up.’ So I’m trying to man up.” Scroll down for more from Beth's memorial service.

Credit: WGN America

A Beautiful Video Tribute

Beth spoke in a video tribute that showed her with her husband in her final months. Her matter-of-fact way of speaking about her impending death had several in the audience crying.

Credit: WGN America

Bonnie Chapman Lost Her “Rock”

Beth and Dog’s daughter gave a beautiful speech as she remembered her mother. “I never thought I’d have to walk down the aisle without her and judge my wedding dress, I never imagined a life without her,” she said. “I lost my rock, my big me. I’m not a mini Beth, but I’m close. I’ll never forget my mother. It’s hard not to be able to call her, but my family has been so tough. No one would put a fugitive in the back of the car and offer them cigarettes, that’s what she did. I thank her for teaching me how to wear these heels and to walk in them. No one will be as great as a mother as she was.”

Credit: WGN America

Garry Chapman Will Miss Her at His Graduation

The youngest of the couple’s 12 kids, Garry got emotional as he told the audience, “I don’t have a reaction, I don’t really have anything. My mom was my cheerleader and got me into law enforcement.” He then broke down as he said that she wouldn’t be there to see him graduate.

Credit: WGN America

Dog Can’t Believe She’s Gone

The star was close to tears several times as he gave a speech about how he met Beth — “I busted her for stealing a lemon” — and said that when she came into his office, “I saw her and I said, ‘Oh, she will be mine.’” Then as he talked about her final days, Dog exclaimed, “I can’t believe she’s gone! This is not possible, I just want to wake up from this dream.” He explained that he served 18 months in prison in Texas and would willingly go back in and do five years “just to kiss her again.”

When their new WGN show started shooting, she refused to stay home and undergo chemotherapy, choosing instead to accompany her husband as he filmed. “The show didn’t kill her but she died for it,” he told the crowd, recalling her saying of her treatments, “All it will do is keep me alive for six months longer but I want to be by your side.”

Dog said she knew the end was near and had lost so much weight. “She grabbed my face and said to me, ‘Big Daddy, let me go!’ I still haven’t let her go. … She will never be dead to me … she is in another place.” The grieving star added, “If there’s a God, he won’t let me live that long without her.”

Admitting he was wearing a pink shirt at the memorial because he heard Beth telling him, “If you don’t wear it, you don’t love me,” Dog added, “If you’re beefing with your old lady, stop and kiss her right now because you’re gonna feel so bad when she or he is not here.” 

Credit: WGN America

Dakota Chapman's Shared a Lesson From Beth

“The best memories I have were our morning hikes," Dakota said, as the service wrapped up. "We would make it just in time to see the sunrise. No matter how busy you are, make time to enjoy the smaller things. Aloha and thank you!"