Joey Feek Lost Her Battle with Cancer 4 Years Ago — Who Was Rory Feek's Wife?

Country music singer Joey Marie (Martin) Feek formed the duet Joey+Rory with her husband. The couple won a Grammy and multiple accolades in their short music career together.

Joey Marie (Martin) Feek was a beloved gospel and country music singer who became famous in the last months of her life. She was the beloved wife of Rory Feek, a songwriter and singer as well, and together they formed the duet Joey+Rory.

The singer lost the battle with cervical cancer on March 4, 2016, at her family home in Alexandria, Indiana, which saw her born 40 years before. The story of courage and faith during the months of her fight against her illness touched millions of hearts.

Four years after that painful moment, her husband Rory and her daughter Indiana continue her life legacy, lovingly remembering their beloved wife and mother. Her husband continues to document her journey through this existence on his personal blog.

During the almost ten years that Joey and her husband sang together, they recorded seven albums, including the latest, "Hymns That Are Important To Us." They also hosted their own TV show, "The Joey+Rory Show."

BEGINNINGS IN MUSIC

Born in Indiana, Joey knew from a young age that she wanted to sing. Together with her parents, she attended church, where she began her career as a singer. As a teenager, she took on the challenge of moving to Nashville when she graduated from high school.

In the birthplace of country music, Nashville, Tennessee, she worked as an assistant at an equestrian veterinary while regularly performing in venues that accommodated new talent.

ROMANCE AND MARRIAGE

It was in one of those places that Joey saw Rory singing for the first time and was impressed by his voice and songs. They did not meet until two years later, and they soon began dating afterward.

After a short courtship, the in-love couple was married about four months later in an intimate ceremony in 2002. He brought his two teenage daughters into the marriage, and Joey put her career on hold to help him raise the girls.

DUET AND SUCCESS

In 2008, Joey and Rory were invited to compete on the TV show "Can You Duet," where they finished in third place. Her family was so happy to see Joey again on stage that weekly they traveled the long distance just to see her sing.

Following their success on the show, the couple recorded several albums after signing a contract with Sugar Hill Records. Their first album, The Life of a Song, was a commercial success, and they would soon be recording four more. But tragedy came to touch their lives.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

After the happy moment the couple shared while welcoming their first daughter together, Indiana, in February 2014, and realizing she had Down Syndrome, they received the worst news.

In May 2014, just four months after Indiana's birth, Joey was diagnosed with stage IV cervical cancer. After aggressive treatment, she was declared cancer-free in 2015, only to receive the news months later that the cancer had returned more aggressively.

FIGHT AND VICTORY

Although the final months of her life were painful, the singer did not want to be remembered for her illness but her life. For as long as she could, she was present at the family's activities and with her daughters: Rory's two and her little one, Indiana.

Since all of her family are Christians, she considers herself a believer of firm faith and found in God, strength to face the end of her life. She stated that she was not afraid of dying and was grateful for the time she was able to live and enjoy.

LIFE GOES ON

Rory has continued to document her life in the same way he did when she was still with him and was fighting and praying for a miracle. He doesn't feel special; he thinks he's just a man who became famous for loving his wife.

And now, four years after the departure of his lover, he still feels married to her. He sees no reason not to keep wearing his wedding band. It's not that he's still grieving; he has said that he feels so full of her and love that he doesn't need anything else from her.