Introduction
Rory Feek Honors Late Wife Joey on Her 50th Birthday with Daughter Indiana and New Wife Rebecca
Country singer and author Rory Feek has paid a deeply personal tribute to his late wife, Joey Feek, on what would have been her 50th birthday. Joey, half of the beloved country-gospel duo Joey + Rory, passed away in March 2016 at just 40 years old after a battle with cervical cancer.
On September 9, 2025, Rory shared an emotional Instagram reel, featuring his 11-year-old daughter Indiana and his new wife Rebecca, whom he married in July 2024. The family visited Joey’s grave together, placing a bouquet of flowers to honor her memory.
“Today would be Joey’s 50th birthday, and as we remember and lift her up on this special day, I feel incredibly grateful for the life with her that I got to be part of,” Rory wrote in the caption. “For the amazing music, example, and especially the love she left behind inside our little girl, Indiana, in me, and in others. Because I knew what love was, I am able to know what love is and experience the beautiful life and story we are part of now. Love doesn’t die when our hearts stop beating. It lives on in the ones we poured love into.”
The video was set to the song Have Faith / Love Lives On by Tim Menses, underscoring the theme of enduring love.
Rory also reflected on how his marriage to Rebecca has given Indiana the gift of having a mother figure again:
“By far my and her favorite moment of the wedding was this one—when Indiana was given the gift of having a mama in her life again and Rebecca was given the gift of being a mother, and we became a family.”
Joey continues to be remembered not only by Rory but also by his older daughters, Heidi and Hopi, from his first marriage. Heidi marked the milestone on her Instagram Stories with a heartfelt throwback photo of herself, Hopi, and Indiana hugging Joey back in 2015.
“She would have been 50 today. This breaks my heart. I wish that cancer never came back and Joey lived a happy, healthy life, but God had other plans,” Heidi wrote.
Behind the tender tributes, family tensions remain. Heidi and Hopi have been in an ongoing legal dispute with Rory over access to Indiana, claiming they have not been able to see her for more than a year. Rory has cited differing worldviews as the reason for restricting visits. The case, filed in 2024, is still ongoing.
Earlier this year, on March 4, Rory also marked the 9th anniversary of Joey’s passing by posting a photo of her grave. He wrote about the daffodils that bloom every spring on their farm, just in time for Indiana to pick and place at her mother’s cross—a ritual of remembrance and love that endures year after year.
Joey Feek’s legacy lives on through her music, her family, and the deep imprint of love she left behind.