ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Five children are without their father after he was killed in a motorcycle crash in Orange Park Monday.
Two days later, the community joined together Wednesday night for a vigil in honor of Joseph “Joe” Canady.
Joe Canady, 36, and his wife Tiffani Canady had only been married two weeks.
"I'm so glad I married him,” Tiffani Canady said. "From the day that I met him, he always talked about his kids.”
Tiffani Canady told News4Jax that she’s heartbroken and she now has to figure out how to move on without her best friend.
“I will miss everything about that man,” she said. “I will miss him.”
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Joe Canady died after another driver turned into the path of his motorcycle on State Road 21.
Tiffani Canady said her husband was on the way to get new tires, but did something unusual before leaving the house.
"He brought the baby and said, ‘I'm leaving now, babe.’ He said the weirdest thing. He said, ‘Madeline has to touch my helmet,’” Tiffani Canady said.
But his family is thankful. Tiffani said her husband was always worried about not being able to say goodbye.
"He said, ‘If anything was to ever happen to me, and I feel like something's going to happen to me, I think the greatest gift would be to have a last word,’” Tiffani Canady said.
A few years ago, Joe Canady wrote each of his kids a letter, in case he passed away unexpectedly.
"In his letter, he asked for us to remember him, all the smiles,” Tiffani Canady said.
Those smiles and good times are what Joe Canady’s son Aiden said he will remember most.
"My dad, he wasn't only my dad to me. He was, a figure that I look up to, he showed me things that no one else did,” he said.
Tiffani Canady said she's so overwhelmed with the outpouring of support she's received from the community, including the people that came out for the vigil.
And during the vigil, heart-shaped balloons by each of his children were released.
Joe Canady’s family is in need of help to pay for his funeral expenses. Anyone wishing to contribute can do so on a GoFundMe page that his family set up.
His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Bivens Funeral Home in Orange Park.