Former Joey + Rory singer Rory Feek is sending his four-year-old daughter, Indiana, back to school in a special way.
In an essay for Today published on Monday, the father of three discussed how he used the $100,000 sent to him by fans following the death of his wife Joey in March 2016 due to cancer.
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Feek revealed that he built a schoolhouse on his Tennessee farm to accommodate the educational needs of his youngest daughter, Indiana, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome the day she was born.
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“Joey’s plan had always been to homeschool Indy. To raise and teach her at home. Not just how to read and write, but more importantly, to be part of moulding her character and faith and help her become all that she can be … But now, it was clear that we would have to come up with a different plan,” the 53-year-old father wrote.
“In the coming weeks I would enrol Indiana in High Hopes, a wonderful integrated pre-school a half hour or so from our farm and she would thrive there for the next two years,” he said to the Today show. “Learning to walk, though later than other kiddos her age, and also to talk incredibly well, in spite of the challenges she had. And then knowing that she would soon age out of High Hopes, an idea began to emerge to have the best of both worlds: Indy having the chance to be part of an amazing school, and being at home, at the same time.”
“In the days and weeks that followed Joey’s funeral, we received hundreds, if not thousands of cards and letters in the mail from people expressing their sympathy for our family and all we’d been through,” he wrote. “They told of how they had prayed for us and how they are praying still. And in many of those envelopes, there were $5 bills. And 10s and 20s, and change and checks of all sizes.”
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He decided to use that money to honour Joey’s wishes and find the best school situation for their daughter, Indiana.
He used the money to build a one-room schoolhouse on their farm and named the school Hardison Mill School.
On Oct. 1, Indiana started her first day of school in the new schoolhouse with about a dozen other children.
He posted a photo of the new school and the students on Instagram, writing, “… first day of school. Not sure who’s excited the most… the kids, the teachers or me! The sweet wooden horses for the playground were made by Joey Sydnes.”
Feek called it “a day when something beyond heartbreaking became something beyond beautiful.”
“I stayed for a long time this morning and watched Indiana play with her new friends on their first day of school. And as I watched, I thought of how blessed we are, and how wonderful it is to be part of using our blessing to bless others. And I couldn’t help but think of what the future might hold, of what this school will become in a year, or in 10 years. And of what Indy will learn here and how this will change who she is, and who we all are.”
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In 2014, Joey was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which continued to spread despite multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. In fall 2015, Rory wrote on his blog that they had decided to end treatment.
Joey died at home in Indiana in March 2016 at the age of 40.
—With files from the Associated Press
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