CRESTVIEW — Even terminal illness couldn't keep Roger Berry from attending his daughter's wedding.
Roger died from liver cancer July 27, but two weeks earlier he watched Alycia and Joshua Day become spouses from a wheelchair in his backyard.
The July 12 ceremony was planned within a couple of days, but Alycia and her mother, Rhonda, are thankful that Roger got to see his only daughter tie the knot.
“I was so happy that my father was able to give me away,” Alycia said. “It was worth it, having my dad there. He seemed very at peace (afterward).”
Friends and family will join the couple on Aug. 30 to pay tribute to Roger, the Crestview High School Quarterback Club's president of six years. The occasion also will serve as a wedding reception.
“My dad was really big about throwing a big party,” Alycia said. “When he looks down (from Heaven), he will say ‘that is one heck of a party’.”
1980s music — Roger's favorite — will be played, she said.
Rhonda said her husband of 25 years would have enjoyed the music montage.
“He loved parties and he loved to entertain,” she said. “He would have thought this would be hilarious.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Wedding reception will commemorate beloved father, community leader who loved big parties