♪ ♪ [VIOLIN PLAYING] TH >> WELL, WE WANT TO WELCOME YOU HERE TODAY.

MY NAME IS MIKE AND I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, AND IT'S JUST AB HONOR TO BE WITH YOU TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE FAMILY.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO BE HERE TODAY.

I KNOW IT MEANS A TON TO THEM.

JUST REALLY, REALLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PRESENCE.

AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE PROGRAM TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO HEAR SOME BEAUTIFUL MUSIC LIKE WE ALREADY HAVE.

WE'RE GOING TO HEAR SOME INCREDIBLE SONGS.

WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT JOHN AND HIS LIFE AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH HIM.

IT'S JUST GOING TO BE A REALLY, REALLY GREAT TIME TOGETHER TODAY, AND WE ARE HERE TO CELEBRATE HIS LIFE.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING.

I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO BEGIN WITH A WORD OF PRAYER, IF THAT WOULD BE OKAY WITH YOU.

FATHER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THESE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM.

AND ALL THE DIFFERENT STORIES EVERYBODY REPRESENTS.

GOD, JUST THE WAY YOU CONNECT US IS PRETTY AMAZING, AND TO TALK WITH EACH OTHER AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE CONNECTED TO THAT PERSON WHO IS CONNECTED TO THEM, GOD, IT REALLY AN AMAZING STORY THAT WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER, AND I THANK YOU FOR THE TOGETHERNESS THAT THIS SERVICE WILL REMIND THE FAMILY OF ESPECIALLY, THAT THEY'RE NOT IN THIS BY THEMSELVES, THAT THEY HAVE FRIENDS, THEY'VE GOT OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS THAT ARE WALKING WITH THEM.

GOD, THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING TOGETHER TODAY.

THANK YOU FOR THE HEALING THAT COMES WHEN WE EXTEND OURSELVES AND WE CARE FOR EACH OTHER, AND I PRAY TODAY WEEK GOD, THATTING JO WOULD BE HONORED BUT MORE THAN THAT BE THAT YOU WOULD BE HONORED BY WHAT GOES ON HERE TODAY.

I PRAY THIS IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

AMEN.

[PIANO PLAYING] ♪ DO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM ♪ ♪ TO FIGHT THE UNBEATABLE FOE ♪ ♪ TO BEAR WITH UNBEARABLE SORROW ♪ ♪ TO RUN WHERE THE BRAVE DO NOT GO ♪ ♪ TO RIGHT THE UNRIGHTABLE WRONG.

TO LOVE PURE AND CHASTE FROM AFAR NOT TO STRIVE WHEN YOUR ARMS ARE TOO WEARY ♪ ♪ TO REACH THE UNREACHABLE STAR ♪ ♪ THIS IS MY QUEST ♪ ♪ TO FOLLOW THAT STAR ♪ ♪ NO MATTER HOW HOPELESS ♪ ♪ NO MATTER HOW FAR.

♪ TO FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT WITHOUT QUESTION OR COST ♪ ♪ TO BE WILLING TO MARCH.

>> HELL OR A HEAVENLY CAUSE ♪ ♪ AND I KNOW IF I ONLY BE TRUE TO THIS GLORIOUS QUEST ♪ ♪ THAT MY HEART WILL BE PEACEFUL AND CALM WHEN I'M LAID TO MY REST ♪ ♪ AND THE WORLD WILL BE BETTER FOR THIS ♪ ♪ THAT ONE MAN SCORNED AND DISCOVERED WITH SCARS ♪ ♪ STILL STROVE WITH HIS LAST OUNCE OF COURAGE ♪ ♪ TO REACH THE UNREACHABLE STAR.

♪ >> GOOD AFTERNOON.

TODAY WE'RE HERE TO HONOR GOVERNOR JOHN Y.

BROWN JR.

GOVERNOR OF THIS COMMONWEALTH FROM 1979 TO 1983.

ONLY 59 INDIVIDUALS HAVE EVER HAD THE HONOR AND THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING AS GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY.

IT'S A JOB THAT REQUIRES YOUR VERY BEST EVERY DAY, SOMETIMES IN THE MOST TRYING OF TIMES.

EACH OF US BRINGS OUR OWN STYLE, OUR OWN PERSONALITY, MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE FLAIR TO THE JOB.

GOVERNOR BROWN'S STRONG PERM AND FLAIR WERE UNPS TAKABLE.

HE WAS A LARGER THAN LIFE PERSONALITY.

HE WAS A BUSINESSMAN, A GOVERNOR.

HECK, HE EVEN OWNED HIS OWN PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM.

THROUGHOUT HIS TENURE AS GOVERNOR, HE FOCUSED ON EXPANDING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.

HE HELPED OPEN UP THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY REGIONS FOR MORE TRADE AND COMMERCE BY STARTING THE AA HIGHWAY.

HE ATTRACTED NEW EMPLOYERS, INCLUDING MAJOR BUSINESSES LIKE UPS, WHICH TO THIS DAY PLAYS AN INCREDIBLY LARGE ROLE IN OUR ECONOMY.

AND SOMETHING VERY PERSONAL TO ME, HE HELPED LIFT UP KENTUCKY'S NEXT GENERATION OF CIVIC AND ECONOMIC LEADERS BY CREATING THE GOVERNORES SCHOLARS PROGRAM, A PROGRAM THAT CHANGED MY LIFE.

IN DOING SO, HE MADE A VERY WISE DECISION BY APPOINTING LILLIAN PRESS TO DIRECT IT.

THAT IS TIME I SAW GOVERNOR BROWN WAS AT LILLIAN PRESS' MEMORIAL SERVICE, AND WE HAD A CHANCE TO SIT DOWN AND TALK.

I WILL NEVER FORGET, HE GAVE ME ONE OF THE NICEST, MOST HEARTFELT, MOST REWARDING COMPLIMENTS OF MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER, AND THAT'LL BE THE MOMENT THAT I ALWAYS REMEMBER GOVERNOR BROWN BY.

THANKS TO GOVERNOR BROWN AND LIL, I STAND HERE TODAY AS THE FIRST GOVERNOR SCHOLAR TO SERVE AS GOVERNOR, BUT, NO, I WILL NOT BE THE LAST.

AND IT WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED WITHOUT THAT PROGRAM THAT HELPED ME FIND MY CONFIDENCE AND ULTIMATELY MY WAY.

GSP HAS DONE THE SAME ARE FOR MANY OTHER KENTUCKIANS NOW IN ITS 40th YEAR.

IT'S STILL THEY GO TO POSITIVELY SHAPE THE LIVES OUR YOUTH.

AND THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE GOVERNOR BROWN WAS ALSO A PHILANTHROPIST.

HE ACCEPTED HE STAB IS SANDER BROWN CANCER IS THE ON AGING AT THE UNIVERSITY KENTUCKY AND HE WA NUCLEAR IN CREATING THE MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER.

HE BUILT THE PAMELA BROWN AUDITORIUM AT LOUISVILLE'S ACTORS THEATRE IN HONOR OF HAD IS SISTER AND HELPED FUND IF DOWNTOWN YMCA.

HE TRULY CARED ABOUT KENTUCKIANS.

HE TRULY CARED ABOUT US.

THROUGHOUT MY ADMINISTRATION, ESPECIALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW SUPPORTIVE HE WAS.

I WOULD GET CALLS OR NOTES FROM VARIOUS GOVERNORS.

THERE WAS ONE I WOULD PROBABLY GET A FEW MORE CALLS THAN OTHERS.

BUT, DAD, GOVERNOR PATTON, GOVERNOR BROWN.

WHEN YOU HAVE SERVED IN THIS ROLE, YOU COULD EASILY PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.

IT WAS ALL FULL, MEANINGFUL AND PERSONAL SUPPORT.

AND I CAN'T THANK YOUR DAD ENOUGH FOR HAVING HIM WHILE NOT PHYSICALLY BY MY SIDE, THERE HELPING OUT, HELP ALL OF US IN ONE OF THE TOUGHEST TIMES WE'VE EVER LIVED THROUGH.

TO HEAR FROM YOUR FATHER WITH THE CHALLENGES THAT HE HAD TO LEAD THIS STATE THROUGH, HELPED US ALL GET THROUGH IT AND GET THROUGH IT TOGETHER.

BUT WE ARE ALL SO MUCH MORE THAN A PROFESSIONAL TITLE.

AND SO WAS GOVERNOR BROWN.

HE WAS A DAD, A GRANDDAD, AN UNCLE AND A FRIEND.

AND I KNOW YOU MISS HIM WITH THOSE TITLES, THE MOST MEANINGFUL, MORE THAN ANY PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT.

I KNOW I WOULD TAKE THE TITLE OF DAD OVER GOVERNOR ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.

SO TO LINCOLN, PAM WILL YOU WANT JOHN, SISSY AND SANDY, WE CARE ABOUT YOU IN THIS TIME OF GRIEF.

I BELIEVE THAT GRIEF IS A CONTINUATION OF LOVE.

THE STRONGER THE GRIEF, THE STRONGER THE LOVE.

AND IF YOU LOOK AROUND, YOU GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS ROTUND YOU AND WATCHING ON KET THAT CARE ABOUT YOU, AND IF YOU'LL LET US, WE'LL CARRY A LITTLE BIT OF THIS GRIEF WITH YOU AS LONG AS YOU'LL ALLOW US, AND WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER TOO.

WE THANK FORMER GOVERNOR BROWN FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMONWEALTH AND FOR SUCH AN AMAZING LIFE.

THANK YOU.

>> GOVERNOR BESHEAR, FORMER GOVERNORS, CABINET OFFICIALS AND DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGED OF LIVING MOST OF MY LIFE IN THE BEST STATE IN THE UNITED STATES TO LIVE, THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY.

IN THAT TIME I'VE MET AND KNOWN MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED MOLD OUR STATE, NONE MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN MY FRIEND, JOHN Y.

BROWN JR.

I KNEW JOHN SINCE WE WERE AT UK TEG, ME AS A UK SCHOLARSHIP BASEBALL PLAYER, JOHN AS A LAW SCHOOL STUDENT SELLING CYCLOPEED YEAHS AND CHANG HANGING US HOE LIVE IN A DORM.

WE KEPT UP OUR FRIENDSHIP OVER THE YEARS HIGHLIGHTED BY SEVERAL EVENTS.

IN 1966 I WAS RUNNING SENATOR JOHN SHERMAN COOPER'S CAMPAIGN FOR RE-ELECTION TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY AGAINST HIS DAD, JOHN Y.

BROWN, SR.

HE AND I RAN INTO EACH OTHER ON NUMEROUS CASES,, BUT VERY SELDOM DID WE DISCUSS POLITICS, BUT RATHER OUR LOVE OF UK AND UK ATHLETICS.

IN 1969 I WAS A CABINET HEAD FOR GOVERNOR LOWY NUN.

JOHN Y.

CALLED ME AND SAID HE WANTED IS TO MOVE THE HEADQUARTERS OF KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN TO KENTUCKY AND COULD I HELP HIM.

THE THE RESULT WAS A BEAUTIFUL HEADQUARTERS THAT YOU SEE WHILE OFF OF WATERSON EXPRESSWAY WHEN HE BUILT AND NOW THE HEADQUARTERS YUM PUBLIC FOOD GIANTS, KFC, PIZZA HUT AND TACO BELL.

IN 1977, HE HAD TRADED HIS INTEREST IN THE BUFFALO BRAVES NBA FRANCHISE FORE THE BOSTON CELTICS WHICH HE HAD ACQUIRE WITH MONEY RECEIVED WHEN THE COLONEL'S FRANCHISE WASN'T INCLUDED IN THE MERGER BETWEEN THE NBA AND ABA.

ON A LATE SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE FALL OF 1977 HE CALLED ME AND SAID, "BIG JIM, BIG JIM, BIG JIM, I WANT YOU TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF BOSTON CELTICS."

AFTER ALMOST FAINTING, I SAID "I COULDN'T DOUGH THAT, JOHN, BECAUSE I'VE JUST SIGNED A NEW CONTRACT WITH THE NCAA OR MARKET EXPECTING OTHER RIGHTS AND I CAN'T BACK OUT ON THAT."

IN IN 1979 NOW GOVERNOR BROWN CALLS ME AND SAID, "I WANT YOU BE THE THE REPUBLICAN MEMBER OF MY CABINET," TELLING ME I CAN HELP HIM REVOLUTIONIZE STATE GOVERNMENT.

WELL, MY COMPANY WAS STARTING TO COOK PRETTY WELL, AND I SAID "JOHN, I CAN'T DO THAT."

BUT HE STAYED IN TOUCH OVER THE YEARS.

WE BECAME MEMBERS OF THE FIRST CLASS OF THE KENTUCKY ENTREPRENEURIAL HALL OF FAME.

WE WOULD -- I WOULD PICK HIM UP AND WE WOULD HAVE LONG DISCUSSIONS AS WE WERE ON OUR WAY THE TO MEETINGS ABOUT THE STATE OF POLITICS AND OUR STATE AND OUR COUNTRY.

FOUR YEARS AGO MY WIFE PAT AND I DOWNSIDES TO A GARDEN CONDOMINIUM IN THE VILLAGE AT RAPID RABBIT RUN AND A UNIT JUST A ANYONE IRON FROM WHERE HE LIVED.

SINCE THEN HE AND I SPENT MANY HOURS TOGETHER.

HE'D COME UP AND RATTEDEL HIS WALKING STICKS ON MY DOOR, AND WE HAD A CHAIR IN OUR DINING -- IN OUR LIVING ROOM THAT WAS JOHN'S CHAIR.

IT WAS A RECLINER.

AND WE SPENT MANY HOURS TALKING ABOUT POLITICS OUR LOVE FOR UK, UK ATHLETICS.

I NEVER MET OR WAS AROUND ANYBODY WHO HAD A SHARPER MIND THAN HIS.

HE WAS CONSTANTLY IN COMMUNICATION WITH ME ABOUT THE STATE OF UK ATHLETICS.

HE AND I HAD A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING.

WE WOULD HAVE OPEN AND FRANK CONVERSATIONS ABOUT UK AND POLITICS, STATE AND NATIONAL.

WE OOH AGREED THAT ANY CONVERSATION WE HAD WOULD BE GRAVEYARD, WHICH MEANT THAT IF EITHER ONE OF US REPEATED THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO ANYBODY ELSE, WE WERE DEAD.

[LAUGHTER] I TOLD HIM I WOULD NEVER BE A DEMOCRAT.

HE SAID, I'LL NEVER BE A REPUBLICAN.

WE BOTH DEBATED THE ILLS OF BOTH PARTIES WHILE AGREEING TO DISAGREE WITHOUT BEING DIFFICULT WITH OUR DEBATES.

WHICH, IF THEY HAD BEEN RECORDED, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN CLASSIC.

ON MANY OF THE CORE ISSUES WE WOULD AGREE, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS CEREMONY IS BEING TELEVISED BY KET.

HE OFTEN SAID THAT IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT INITIATIVE FOR THE EDUCATION OF HIS LIFETIME BECAUSE WHAT IT'S DONE FOR EDUCATION FOR THIS STATE.

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, AS GOVERNOR BESHEAR JUST SAID, HE MADE HIS LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCE AT A CEREMONY HONORING LIL PRESS WHOSE HUSBAND LEN FOUNDED KET.

LIL WAS APPOINTED BY GOVERNOR BROWN TO BE THE FIRST DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOLARS PROGRAM.

ON THE PROGRAM THAT DAY WITH ANDY BESHEAR WHO WAS IN THE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS, JOHN MADE BEST TALK I EVER HEARD HIM MAKE WITH NO NOTES.

NO NOTES.

HE DID IT ALL EXTEMPORANEOUSLY, AND AS WE TOLD HIS FAMILY BECAUSE PAT RECORDED IT AND WE SENT IT TO THE FAMILY AND SAID, "THIS IS THE BEST WE'VE EVER HEARD HIM."

ABOUT 12 YEARS AGO HE ASKED IF I WOULD SPEND SOME TIME WITH HIS SON LINCOLN.

THAT TIME BECAME SO BENEFICIAL TO ME THAT LINCOLN HAS BECOME LIKE A SECOND SON TO ME.

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO JOHN ASKED IF I WOULD MEET WITH HIS GRANDSON, JOHN Y.

BROWN IV SITTING RIGHT THERE BECAUSE HE IS A REPUBLICAN.

[LAUGHTER] AND HE COULD NOT UNDERSTAND, HE COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHY HE WAS A REPUBLICAN BECAUSE HE SAID, "MY SON, JOHN Y. III, WON TWO TERMS OF SECRETARY OF STATE AS A DEMOCRAT."

I MET WITH JOHN Y. IV AND WAS TAKEN WITH HIS MATURITY AND DEPTH OF THINKING.

I REPORTED THAT THIS BACK TO JOHN.

AND HE JUST SHOOK HIS SAID WHICH NECESSITATED ANOTHER ONE OF OUR POLITICAL DEBATES.

[LAUGHTER] A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO I WENT TO SEE HIM AT THE UK HOSPITAL AS HE WAS FIGHTING TO RECOVER.

WE SPENT AN HOUR AND A HALF TEG, JUST THE TWO OF US.

HE SAID HE WAS HAPPIER THAN HE'D EVER BEEN IN HIS LIFE BECAUSE OF ALL THE FAMILY INVOLVEMENT WITH HIM.

WE TALKED ABOUT HIS FAMILY.

JOHN Y. III WHO HE ASKED ME CONSTANTLY ABOUT HIS BUSINESS WITH LAURA OWENS.

I TOLD HIM HOW WELL THEY WERE DOING.

SANDY AND SISSY, HIS DAUGHTERS BY ELLIE, HIS FIRST WIFE, WHO HAS REMAINED A GREAT FRIEND OF JOHN'S.

BOTH DAUGHTERS WERE CONSTANTLY BY HIS SIDE AND CAME WITH HIM TO VISIT ME MANY, MANY TIMES.

SANDY KEPT PAT CONSTANTLY UPDATED ON HER DAD'S PROCESS -- PROGRESS.

PAM, HIS DAUGHTER BY PHYLLIS, WHO HAS GONE ON TO BECOME A GREAT SUCCESS AS A NEWS ANCHOR WITH C INFORMATIVEN HOE GOT IT YOU WILL -- CNN ON HER OWN ABILITY, JOHN WOULD CALL ME AND AND SAY, "DID YOU SEE PAM ON THE TELEVISION?"

WELL, IT WAS ON ALL THE TIME BECAUSE JOHN HAD IT ON ALL THE TIME.

PHYLLIS WHO IS OFF THE CHARTS, LINCOLN HIS SON WITH PHYLLIS.

HE HAS NO CEILING ON LIFE ON WHAT HE CAN BECOME.

HIS PARTNER JULIE FEW SHAY IS AN MD AND HAS BEEN A CONDUIT TOTE FAMILY ON THE MEDICAL PROCESSES OF JOHN.

GOVERNOR BROWN'S PARTNER OF THE LAST FEW YEARS WHO TOOK CARE OF HIM MARY ELLEN WHEELER WAS ALWAYS ON HIS MIND FOR WHAT SHE DID FOR HIM.

THERE WAS A COLUMN BY AL CROSS IN LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER MONDAY MORNING ABOUT JOHN WHICH WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A PICTURE WHICH CAPTURED JOHN Y.

BROWN, JR.

WITHOUT A CAPTION PEERING OVER THE SHOULDERS WEEK LOOKING AT A NEWLY INSTALLED GOVERNOR BROWN, STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WERE TWO PEOPLE JOHN ADMIRED THE MOST.

WILLIAM T. YOUNG, SR. WHO CAME ONE OF THE SEVERAL TOP KENTUCKY BUSINESSMEN WHO WOULD KICK ONE DOLLAR A YEAR SECRETARIES FOR BROWN AND THE CHAMP, MUHAMMAD ALI, BOTH OF WHOM WERE CLOSE FRIENDS OF JOHN UNTIL THEIR DEATHS.

TWO GREAT KENTUCKIANS FROM TOTALLY DIFFERENT ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS WHO WERE SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WORKING ONLY AS JOHN COULD HAVE BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

THE COMMONWEALTH IS BETTER BECAUSE OF THE LEGACY OF JOHN Y.

BROWN JR.

I LOVE YOU, JOHN.

.

♪ ♪ I'VE HAD SOME GOOD DAYS ♪ ♪ I'VE HAD SO MANY SOME HILLS TO CLIMB ♪ ♪ I'VE HAD SOME WEAR DAYS ♪ ♪ AND SOME SLEEPLESS NIGHTS ♪ ♪ BUT WHEN I LOOK AROUND AND WHEN I THINK THINGS OVER ♪ ♪ ALL OF MY GOOD DAYS OUTWEIGH MY BAD DAYS ♪ ♪ I WON'T COMPLAIN ♪ ♪ SOMETIMES THE CLOUDS HANG LOW ♪ ♪ I CAN HARDLY SEE THE ROAD ♪ ♪ I'VE ASKED THE QUESTION, LORD, WHY SO MUCH PAIN?♪ ♪ BUT HE KNOWS WHAT'S BEST FOR E ♪ SO I'LL SAY THANK YOU LORD ♪ ♪ I THANK YOU LORD ♪ ♪ I WON'T COMPLAIN ♪ ♪ ♪ GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME ♪ ♪ HE'S BEEN GOOD TO ME ♪ ♪ MORE THAN THIS WORLD COULD EVER BE, HE'S BEEN GOOD TO ME ♪ ♪ HE DRIES MY TEARS AWAY ♪ ♪ TURNS MY DARKNESS INTO DAY ♪ ♪ ♪ SO I'LL SAY THANK YOU LORD ♪ ♪ I'LL SAY THANK YOU LORD ♪ ♪ AND I WON'T COMPLAIN ♪ >> GOVERNOR BESHEAR, FORMER GOVERNORS, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, FRIENDS AND FAMILY, I'M JOAN JOHN BROWN ARE THERE AND IT'S AN HONOR THAT YOU ARE ALL HERE TO HONOR OUR FATHER.

SOMEONE MENTIONED TO ME THAT HE DIED ON THE SAME DAY JOHN F. KENNEDY DIED, AND IT REMINDED ME OF A STORY WHEN KENNEDY WAS ASSASSINATED, A JOURNALIST SAID TO ONE OF KENNEDY'S AIDES, WE'LL NEVER LAUGH AGAIN, AND THE AIDE, DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN, FUTURE U.S.

SENATOR RESPONDED, WE'LL LAUGH AGAIN.

WE'LL JUST NEVER BE YOUNG AGAIN.

AND I THOUGHT OF MY DAD, THE DIFFERENCE BEING THAT KENNEDY WAS JUST 46 AND HE WAS 88 AND WAS SO YOUNG AT HEART ALL THE WAY TO THE END.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES ABOUT HIM NEAR THE END OF HIS LIFE WAS JUST BEFORE COVID, HE CALLED SOME OLD FRIENDS AND SAID, "I MISS YOU ALL.

WE HAVEN'T SEEN EACH OTHER IN A LONG TIME.

LET'S GET TOGETHER FOR DINNER AT MERRICK INN."

AND.

AND SAID THEY SAID, SURE.

SO THEY MET THE NEXT WEEK BUT MY FATHER LEFT AFTER ABOUT 30 MINUTES, AND THE FRIENDS CALLED MY MOM THE NEXT DAY AND SAID, "IS EVERYTHING OKAY WITH JOHN Y.?

WE HAD THIS DINNER BUT HE LEFT AFTER ABOUT 30 MINUTES."

AND MY MOM CALLED ME AND SAID, "IS EVERYTHING OKAY WITH YOUR DAD?

HE LEFT RIGHT AFTER THIS DINNER HE SET UP STARTED.

."

I SAID, I DON'T KNOW, I'LL CALL HIM.

I CALLED MY DAD AND HE SAID, I GOT THERE AND THEY WERE ALL SO OLD AND BORING I COULDN'T TAKE IT.

I HAD GO GET OUT OF THERE.

[LAUGHTER] I SAID, OF COURSE YOU DID.

AND MOVING TO THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE AGE SPECTRUM, AND I'LL SHARE SOME STORIES ABOUT HIM THAT I THINK CAPTURE HIS ESSENCE AND WHAT MADE HIM SO MEMORABLE AND LOVEABLE TO ALL OF US, BUT IN THE FIRST STORY, WHEN HE WAS JUST ONE YEAR OLD, HIS PARENTS WERE CONCERNED THAT HE WASN'T DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ENOUGH, AND THEY TOOK HIM TO A CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST, AND THE CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST TOOK A BLUE BLANKET AND PUT IT ON THE TO THE FLOOR, PUT MY DAD IN THE MIDDLE OF IT AND BUT A BRIGHT RED BALL IN ONE OF THE CORNERS OF THE BLANKET AND ENCOURAGED MY DAD TO RETRIEVE IT TO PLAY WITH.

AND AFTER A FEW MOMENTS BY DAD JUST TOOK THE BLANKET AND PULLED THE BALL TO -- [LAUGHTER] -- WHICH I THINK EVEN AS A TODDLER YOU COULD SEE THAT HE SAW THE WORLD A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY THAN THE REST OF US AND SAW OPPORTUNITIES AND WAYS SOLVING PROBLEMS THAT JUST DIDN'T COME EASILY TO THE REST OF US.

GROWING UP, I HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO LEARN HOW TO SELL YOURSELF AND YOUR IDEAS.

AND TO THE END OF HIS LIFE HE CARRIED IN HIS WALLET A COPY OF THE CHECK OF HIS FIRST PAYCHECK FROM ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA WHERE HE LEARN HOW TO STELL DOOR TO DOOR.

I REMEMBER THIS STORY.

HE AND MY MOM ON THEIR FIRST DATE, THEY WERE IN EASTERN KENTUCKY, AND HE HAD SOLD -- HE HAD JUST FINISHED SELLING HIS FIFTH SET OF CYCLOPEED YEAHS AND IT WAS GETTING EXPLICIT WAS TIME FOR FUN AND HE GOTrd KÀ AND SAID, I JUST TIED MY ALL-TIME RECORD.

AND MOST WOMEN WOULD HAVE SAID, WELL, THAT'S WONDERFUL.

LET'S GO TO DINNER AND CELEBRATE.

BUT MY MOM SAID, WELL, WHY DON'T YOU GO FOR YOUR RECORD THEN.

AND MY DAD TOLD ME LATER, HE SAID, IT WAS AT THAT MOMENT I THOUGHT, I MAY HAVE TO MARRY THAT WOMAN.

AND HE DID.

AND HE WAS A BOLD THINKER AND HE USED TO SAY NEVER MISS OUT ON AN OPPORTUNITY.

THE SADDEST THING IN LIFE IS AN OPPORTUNITY MISSED.

AND WHEN I WAS JUST ONE YEAR OLD, HE WAS PRACTICING LAW WITH HIS FATHER IN LEXINGTON.

THE OFFICE WAS BROWN & SON IN LOUISVILLE.

IN LOUISVILLE IT WAS BROWN & FATHER, VERY FITTINGLY.

AT A TIME WHEN MOST PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR STABILITY, HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF MEETING COLONEL SANDERS AND DECIDED TO LEAVE THE LAW AND TO TAKE A CHANCE.

AND HE ENDED UP BUILDING THE SECOND BIGGEST FAST FOOD CHAIN IN THE WORLD OVER THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS BECAUSE HE TOOK A CHANCE.

AND AFTER THAT HE GOT INTO SPORTS A BIT, AND HE BOUGHT THE KENTUCKY COLONELS BASKETBALL TEAM.

THEY WERE AN ABA TEAM AND THEY WERE LOSING MONEY, BUT I LOVE THE TEAM.

BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE LOSING MONEY, HE SOLD THEM OUT TO A GROUP?

CINCINNATI, AND ON HIS WAY HOME THAT NIGHT MY MOM TOLD ME AND I WAS VERY AUTOPSY SET ABOUT IT AND MET HIM AT THE DOOR, TEARS IN MY EYES, BEGGING HIS, PLEASE, DAD, YOU CAN'T SELL THE COLONELS.

AND HE SAID HE REALIZED AT THAT MOMENT THAT THERE WERE WIDTH ALL ACROSS THE STATE WHO FELL THE SAME WAY AND HE HAD MADE A MISTAKE.

I SAID WHAT ARE THE ODDS GETTING IT BACK?

IT WAS 2 OF THE 2 OF THE.

THEN 7/0/30.

THEN HE GOT IT UP TO 9/0/10 AND I BREATHED A LITTLE EASIER AND HE GOT IT BACK AND GAVE IT TO MY MOM AND AN ALL-FEMALE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THEY WENT ON TO BREAK TICKET SALES RECORDS AND TWO YEARS LATER WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP, AND HI THAT WAS A TESTAMENT TO SOMETHING ELSE HE ALWAYS SAID, FIND PEOPLE WHO ARE SMARTER AND MORE ABLE THAN YOU, AND TRUST ME THERE'S A LOT OF THEM, AND GET OUT OF THEIR WAY, AND HE WAS ALWAYS BOLD IN HIS THINKING, AND THAT WAS A VERY BOLD MOVE AND A WONDERFUL MEMORY, AND HE TOLD ME A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN WE WERE IN THE HOSPITAL, HIS HOSPITAL ROOM, HE WAS APOLOGIZING FOR NOT SPENDING -- HE SAID, "I KNOW I DIDN'T SPEND AS MUCH TIME WITH YOU WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER AND I ALWAYS REGRET THAT, BUT I DID BUY A BASKETBALL TEAM AND THAT HAS TO COUNT FOR SOMETHING 1."

[LAUGHTER] OH, YEAH, THAT COUNTS FOR A LOT.

I APPRECIATED THAT.

WHICH LEADS ME TO MY NEXT STORY.

WE HAD A FATHER-SON TRIP WHEN I WAS 13.

LINCOLN'S GIVING ME THE THUMBS-UP FOR THIS.

THIS ONE WAS ON THE BUBBLE.

WE'LL GO FOR IT.

[LAUGHTER] MY MOM WAS VERY PLEASED WE WERE GOING TO GO WHITE WATER RAFTING AND GO CAMPING FOR THREE DAYS.

MY MOM SAID, THIS IS WONDERFUL.

Y'ALL ARE GOING TO BE CAMPING OUT.

YOU WILL I DO NOT BE IN TENTS P. THIS IS A WONDERFUL GREAT FATHER HAD SON TIME.

SO WE FLEW TO IDAHO AND WE STARTED THIS WHITE WATER RAFTING WITH A SMALL GROUP BUT IT WASN'T MUCH WHITE WATER AND SO THE GUY STARTED GIVING US TOURS THROUGH THESE CAVES AND THIS WAS SOME NATIVE AMERICAN DRAWINGS, AND I HAD ENOUGH OF MY MOM IN ME TO KNOW THAT I SHOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS STUFF, BUT I HAD ENOUGH OF MY DAD IN ME TO KNOW THAT HE WAS MISERABLE, AND I SAW HIM PULL THE GUIDE ASIDE AFTER A FEW HOURS AND HE SAID, "IS THERE ANY CHANCE THAT YOU COULD DROP US OFF A LITTLE EARLY FROM THIS TRIP?

I'M WILLING TO PAY EXTRA IF YOU CAN."

AND THE GUIDE SAID, YES.

SO THE NEXT DAY HE DROPPED US UP AT SOME KIND OF INDIAN RESERVATION, AND MY DAD PAID A GENTLEMAN THERE $50 TO DRIVE HIS PICKUP TRUCK INTO TOWN AND DROP IT OFF AT THE AIRPORT, AND WE GOT THERE AND THEN WE CHARTERED A FLIGHT TO LAS VEGAS AFTER THAT.

[LAUGHTER] AND I CALLED MY MOM AND I SAID, "WE'RE NOT SLEEPING IN A TENT TONIGHT."

[LAUGHTER] WE WALK IN WITH DUFFEL BAGS.

AND THEN SCHOOL STARTED THE NEXT WEEK AND I HAD TO WRITE A COMPOSITION ON WHAT I DID THAT SUMMER, AND I THOUGHT, SHOULD I OR SHOULDN'T I?

I ASSUME, GOVERNOR, YOU AND STEVE NEVER WENT MANY CAKING IN VEGAS ON A FATHER-SON TRIP, DID YOU?

NOT YET.

BUT WE HAD A GOOD TIME.

AND I HAVE GREAT MEMORIES OF THAT TRIP.

AND HE WAS ALWAYS FUN.

IF JOHN Y.

WAS AROUND, YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT TIME WITH HIM.

AND SO NOT LONG AFTER THAT HE MARRIED -- HE MET AND MARRIED PHYLLIS.

THEY HAD A WHIRLWIND ROMANCE.

AND WHILE ON THEIR HONEYMOON E. THERE WERE JUST A FEW DAYS LEFT BEFORE YOU COULD FILE FOR GOVERNOR, AND THEY CUT THE HONEYMOON SHORT, THEY CAME BACK TO KENTUCKY, AND THEY FILED AGAINST ALL ODDS -- NO ONE GAVE HIM ANY CHANCE OF WINNING -- BUT THEY RAN A BRILLIANT CAMPAIGN CRISSCROSSING THE STATE.

WONDERFUL TEAM.

AND THEY WON.

AND HE BECAME GOVERNOR AND WENT ON TO DO ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU HAVE I DO NOT BEEN READING ABOUT IN THE PAPER.

THE LAST FEW DAYS BECAUSE HE TOOK A CHANCE.

I KNOW HIS FATHER SAID, THE ONLY TIME YOU FAIL IN LIFE IS WHEN YOU FAIL TO TRY.

AND I'M SURE THAT WAS ECHOING IN MY FATHER'S HEAD IN THAT TIME.

AND HE HAD A WONDERFUL SENSE OF HUMOR.

LATE IN HIS ADMINISTRATION MY SISTERS AND I WERE VISITING HIM, AND HE SAID, "YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU HAVE A FEW BIG SUCCESSES IN LIFE, YOU START GETTING AWARDS FOR ALL SORTS OF THINGS."

AND HE HAD US COME IN HIS OFFICE AND HE SHOWED US HE HAD JUST BEEN NAMED NATIONAL PARENT OF THE YEAR.

[LAUGHTER] AND HE SAID, "SO WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE A CHILD OF THE NATIONAL PARENT OF THE YEAR?"

AND I SAID, "I LOVE YOU, DAD, AND CONGRATULATIONS, BUT HONESTLY IF YOU'RE THE BEST THERE IS OUT THERE, I'M REALLY CONCERNED.

FOR ALL THE OTHER KIDS IN THE WORLD."

[LAUGHTER] AND HE GAVE ME A HIGH FIVE AND SAID, YOU'RE RIGHT.

YOU'RE RIGHT.

AND HE LOVED TO LAUGH AT HIMSELF AND HAD A WONDERFUL SELF EFFACING HUMOR.

AND THEN A FEW YEARS AFTER THAT I FINISHED LAW SCHOOL AND I HAD TWO GREAT JOB OFFERS WITH KENTUCKY LAW FIRMS, BUT MY DAD CONVINCED ME TO COME WORK FOR HIM, AND IN TYPICAL JOHN Y.

BROWN FASHION, HE HIRED ME FOR $8,000 LESS THAN I COULD MAKE AT THE OTHER JOB BUT CONVINCED ME IT WAS IN MY BEST INTERESTS AND THAT I SHOULD THANK HIM FOR IT.

AND SO I GOT TO BE MANAGED BY HIM FOR A COUPLE YEARS, AND HE HAD SORT OF A TOM SAWYER-ESQUE STYLE ABOUT HIM.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL REMEMBER THAT SCENE IN TOM SAWYER WHERE HE'S SUPPOSED TO WHITEWASH THE FENCE, AND ALL THE OTHER KIDS PLAYING, AND HE COME UP WITH THIS IDEA THAT HE'LL MAKE WHITEWASHING A FENCE SEEM SO ENGAGING AND ENTICING THAT HE'LL GET THE OTHER KIDS TO PAY HIM FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF WHITEWASHING THE FENCE.

AND SO THERE ARE MANY TIMES, AND KEN ROGERS TOLD BREAK K REBECCA, MY DAD TOLD ME HE JUST DID A FAVOR BUT IT SURE FEELS LIKE I'M WHITE WAY, FENCE RIGHT NOW EVERYONE EVER.

[LAUGHTER] AND I JUST GAVE HIM AN APPLE AND A KITE TO DO IT.

BUT HE HAD SUCH CHARM, AND THEY DON'T TELL YOU THAT IN ANY BUSINESS BOOKS, BUT IF YOU HAVE CHARM, USE IT, AND HE HAD THE CHARM AND IT WAS WONDERFUL SEEING HIM, TOO, AT THAT AGE IN HIS 60s.

HE KEPT STARTING NEW COMPANIES AND NEW BUSINESSES.

COLONEL SANDERS SAID YOU'LL ROUTS BEFORE YOU'LL WEAR OUT -- RUST OUT BEFORE YOU WEAR OUT, AND MY DAD REALLY LIVED THAT AND IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE THAT.

AND THEN WE GET TO THE FINAL DECADE OF HIS LIFE WHICH WAS THE SWEETEST YEARS, I THINK, HIS LIFE, AND THE ONE THE PERIOD THAT WAS MOST TOUCHING TO ALL OF HIS CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, HE REALLY BECAME A WONDERFUL, A WONDERFUL PARENT TO US AND HE REALLY CARED AND HE WANTED TO BE WITH US.

AND YOU KNOW IT WAS A VERY SWEET TIME.

AND I REMEMBER -- WHEN I WAS -- WHEN I WAS A CHILD, THE HARRY CHAPIN SIGN, THE CAT'S IN THE I HAD CONTRACT EL WAS POPULAR, AND I USED TO BE VERY SAD WHAT I HEARD THAT SONG BECAUSE THEY WERE THE WORDS, WE'LL GET TOGETHER THEN.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A GOOD TIME THEN.

BUT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

AND A DAY AFTER HE DIED I LISTENED TO TO THAT SONG AGAIN BUTTED I WASN'T SAD THIS TIME BECAUSE WE HAD MANY THENS.

WE HAD MANY THENS AND MANY GOOD TIMES.

AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL GIFT THAT HE GAVE ALL OF US.

AND THERE'S A POEM FROM ROBERT BELIE CALLED FINDING THE FATHER AND I READ RECENTLY.

IT'S ABOUT A FATHER WHO LEAVES THE FAMILY WHEN THE CHILD.

IS YOUNG AND GOES, TRAVELS, WORKS DIFFERENT JOBS ALL OVER THE WORLD, MISSES THE CHILD'S CHILDHOOD, AND THEN IT'S YOU UP TO THE ADULT CHILD TO FIND THE FATHER.

AND THE LAST LINES OF THE POEM GO, "WHEN YOU LIGHT THE LAMP, YOU WILL FIND HIM.

HE'S SITTING BEHIND THE DOOR.

HIS EYEBROWS HEAVY, HIS FOREHEAD LIGHT, LONELY IN HIS WHOLE BODY, WAITING FOR YOU."

AND I THINK EACH OF MY SIBLINGS AND I LIT OUR OWN LAMPS AND WE FOUND OUR FATHER AND WE FOUND A BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM THAT HE ALWAYS WANTED BUT MAYBE DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME OR ABILITY TO GIVE TO US EARLIER BUT DID AT THE END.

AND IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE MEASURE OF A MAN, WATCH HOW HE DIES.

AND OUR FATHER DIED A BEAUTIFUL DEATH WITH ALL FIVE CHILDREN BY HIS SIDE, LOVING ON HIM, CARING FOR HIM, MY SON, HIS NAMESAKE, KISSING HIM ON THE FOREHEAD AND WHISPERING IN HIS EAR.

NOT MANY GRANDCHILDREN CAN SAY THAT THEIR GRANDFATHER IS THEIR HERO, BUT I CAN.

AND MOMENTS AFTER HE DIED, I LOOKED AT HIM AND I SAID, "YOU EVEN NAILED THIS PHASE OF LIFE."

AND HE DID.

AND AS WE GO TO COLLECT HIS THINGS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WHEN I FIND THAT PLAQUE, "ERR FATHER OF THE YEAR," I'LL HAPPILY POLISH IT AND HANG IT SOMEWHERE PROUDLY BECAUSE HE EARNED THAT TOO.

I LOVE YOU, POPS.

>> WELL, THAT WAS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW.

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.

SO I'M PAMELA.

I AM THE YOUNGEST DAUGHTER.

AND MANY OF YOU KNOW MY DAD AS JOHN Y.

OR JYB OR THE GIVE GUV BUT TO ME HE WAS DADDY O SAID IN A VERY SPECIFIC VOICE THAT I WILL SPARE ALL OF YOU FROM TODAY.

MAYBE.

WE'LL SEE.

I FIRST WANT TO JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH, GOVERNOR BESHEAR, FIRST LADY BESHEAR, FOR HONORING DAD IN THIS WAY, THE BEAUTIFUL CAPITOL ROTUNDA WITH ALL THE HONORS HERE AND FOR EVERYONE SEATED HERE THAT CAME IN FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO CELEBRATE DAD.

HE WOULD JUST LOVE THIS.

IN FACT, ON THAT NOTE, WHEN DAD WAS GROWING UP, HE TOLD ME THAT WHEN NARCISSISM -- THAT HE WOULD DAYDREAM WITH HIS OWN FUNERAL AND SAID, ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COME TO MY FUNERAL AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE CRYING AND SO SAD AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH LOVE AND AN OUTPOURING OF AFFECTION, BUT THEN HE SAID THAT HE HAD AN EPIPHANY THAT FOR THE MOST PART PEOPLE WOULD BE THINKING ABOUT WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO GO FOR LUNCH AFTER.

[LAUGHTER] BUT THIS TURNOUT TODAY WITH SO MANY FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN THIS BEAUTIFUL ROTUNDA IS TRULY A TESTAMENT TO MY DAD AND WHAT A LITTLE BOY FROM KENTUCKY CAN ONLY DREAM OF.

BUT MY DAD HAD A KNACK FOR MAKING HIS DREAMS COME TRUE.

IT'S NO COINCIDENCE HIS FAVORITE SONG IS "THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM" THAT WE HEARD EARLIER.

IT ALSO DIDN'T HURT THAT HE HAD SEES LIVELY SPARKLY BLUE EYES, A MAGNETIC PERSONALITY AND A SENSE OF HUMOR THAT WOULD LEAVE ANYONE IN STITCHES, AND HE WAS SO SELF-DEPRECATING AS JOHN SAID.

AS ONE PERSON PUT IT, HE WAS LARGER THAN LIFE BUT HE WAS JUST A REGULAR DAD.

ANYONE COULD HANG OUT WITH THEM AND HE'D GIVE THEM HIS TIME.

HE WAS A ONE-OF-A-KIND CHARACTER AND AS HE PUT IT IN HIS OWN WORDS AS GOVERNOR, LET ME BE FREE, LET ME BE MYSELF.

I AM DIFFERENT.

I HAD A SPECIAL BOND WITH MY DAD SINCE BIRTH WHEN HE NAMED ME AFTER HIS LATE SISTER, PAMELA FERRIS WHO DIED IN A HOT AIR BALLOON ACCIDENT AT THE AGE OF 28.

AND I'D OFTEN RELY ON HIM DURING LIFE'S BIGGEST CHALLENGES.

AND AFTER MY MOM DIED TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO, I CALLED HIM IN DISTRESS AND I SAID, "DAD, WHAT IS THE MEANINGCH LIFE?"

I JUST NEEDED SOMEONE TO GIVE ME CLARITY BECAUSE I JUST FELDT SO LOST AFTER LOSING MY MOM.

AND DAD SAID, WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT, "TO FIND YOUR PURPOSE AND GIVE BACK.

DON'T JUST EXIST, PAM.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

THINK BIG BEYOND WHAT YOU THINK IS POSSIBLE OR WHAT SOCIETY TELLS YOU IS POSSIBLE.

LIFE IS A GIFT AND EVERY DAY SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH."

A LOT OF THIS WAS ADVICE THAT HE GOT FROM HIS ON DAD THAT WE AFFECTIONATELY CALLED PAPA.

AND IT REFLECTED HOW HE LIVED HIS OWN LIFE, AND MY DAD WAS THE HAPPIEST AND MOST POSITIVE PERSON I KNEW SO CLEARLY HE WAS ONTO SOMETHING WITH THAT ADVICE.

AND THAT MENTALITY CARRIED HIM THROUGH UNTIL THE CUPS OF 89.

HE DESERVED CREDIT BECAUSE HEAL BE 89 NEXT MONTH.

I WITH AN EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT, HE ALMOST MADE MADE TO IT 89.

AND MY DAD WOULD BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU THAT HE HAD NO BUSINESS LIVING THAT LONG.

HE WOULD ALWAYS SAY HE FELT HE WOULD BE WOULD BE LUCK THEY HE LIVED 60 AND THEN 69 AND THEN MOVED THE GOALS BECAUSE HE LOVED LIFE SO MUCH HE DIDN'T WANT IT TO END.

SEE SHE HAD TWO HEART ATTACKS AND A QUADRUPLE BYPASSES BY THE AGE OF AND I'VE.

HE HAS HAD SERIOUS FALLS, A DROPPED FOOTED, MULTIPLE CANCERS AND CAR ACCIDENTS INCLUDING ONE LAST YEAR WHERE HE BROKE HIS NECK.

AND AFTER THAT LATEST ONE HE SAID, "LIVING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WORRYING ABOUT WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

I HAVEN'T BEEN NEGATIVE SINCE.

I FELT VERY LUCKY, VERY FORTUNATE, BEEN BLESSED EVEN SITTING IN THE HOSPITAL FOR NINE HOURS.

I MEAN WEBSITES A CHALLENGE BUT I CAN'T COMPLAIN."

THAT WAS SUCH A COMMON REFRAIN WE'D HEAR FROM GOD, I CAN'T COMPLAIN, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.

NOTHING GOT HIM DOWN.

HE WOULD FORGE AHEAD AFTER EACH SETBACK AND TREAT EVERY DAY AS A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE IT BERN THE DAY BEFORE.

HIS LATEST TURN IN THE HOSPITAL THESE PAST SIX WEEKS DAD DEFIED THE ODDS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND WE ARE SO THANKFUL HE DID BECAUSE WE MADE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES WITH HIM.

ME, LINCOLN, SANDY, SISSY, JOHN, THE EXTENDED FAMILY.

ONE DAY AFTER DAD'S HEART STOPPED AND THE DOCTORS AND NURSES BROUGHT HIM BACK, DAD WAS THROWING PUNCHES AND KICKING HIS LEGS IN HIS BED BECAUSE HE WAS TRYING TO CONVINCE THE DOCTORS TO LET HIM OFF THE VENTILATOR.

THE DOCTORS COULD NOT BELIEVE IT.

ONE OF THEM, DR. CASTRABI WHO IS HERE TODAY, SAID DAD HAD A LESS THAN 1% CHANCE OF OF SURVIVING THE DAY, THAT HE MADE AN EXCEPTIONAL TURNAROUND AND DID 2 OTHER DOCTORS WERE SHAKING THEIR HEADS IN DISBELIEF.

WE HAD DANCE PARTIES AROUND HIS BED AS HE LISTENED TO HIS FAVORITE SONGS.

DAD EVEN DID A LITTLE SHIMMY IN HIS BED.

WE HAVE A VIDEO OF THAT.

AND HE SCRIBBLED SWEET MESSAGES ON THE WHITE BOARD SINCE HE COULDN'T TALK SUCH AS, "WHAT CAN I DO BETTER?"

AND "I'VE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY."

AS HIS KIDS SURROUND HIM.

HE KNEW HOW TO PUT ON THE CHARM EVEN WITH A VENTILATOR ON, AND HIS NURSES, INCLUDING ONE WHOS HERE TODAY MELISSA, THEY WERE JUST SMITTEN WITH HIM, AND HE LOVED IT.

HE LOVED ALL THE ATTENTION.

DAD HAD A WAY OF ENDEARING HIMSELF TO ANYONE WHO CAME IN CONTACT WITH HIM, AND AT TIMES HIS MOMENTS OF ENDEARMENT HAPPENED WHEN HE DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE IT IN THE LATE '90S DAD DECIDED TO CALL PRESIDENT CLINTON, HIS OLD FRIEND FROM THEIR DAYS SERVING AS GOVERNOR.

PRESIDENT CLINTON WAS GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS.

MY DAD GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY, OBVIOUSLY.

AND MY DAD PUT IN THE CALL AND AS TIME TICKED BY AND HE DIDN'T HEAR BACK, HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE HIS SLEEP MEDICINE AM BEN AND DOZE OFF.

WELL, THE NEXT MORNING HE WOKE UP AND WONDERED IN HORROR, DID I TALK TO PRESIDENT CLINTON LAST NIGHT?

HE CALLED THE WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD AND ASKED, AND THE OPERATOR SAID, WHY, YES, MR. BROWN YOU.

SPOKE TO PRESIDENT CLINTON FOR 42 MINUTES.

[LAUGHTER] HE HAD ZERO RECOLLECTION OF IT.

WE RECENTLY SPOKE TO PRESIDENT CLINTON AFTER DAD'S PASSING.

HE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO CALL US AND SENT HIS CONDOLENCES.

AND WE ASKED HIM WHETHER HE KNEW THIS BECAUSE I HAD ALWAYS BEEN CURIOUS, DID HE REALIZE LIKE SOMETHING -- YOU KNOW.

AND HE LAUGHED, AND HE SAID HE REMEMBERED THE CONVERSATION AND SHOULD HAVE REALIZED SOMETHING WAS AMISS BECAUSE DAD ACTUALLY LET HIM TALK.

[LAUGHTER] HE LIVED AN INCREDIBLE LIFE FILLED WITH WELL-KNOWN PEOPLE, MANY PROMINENT, ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

BY SOCIETY'S STANDARDS HE READ THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAINTOP.

HE GOT THERE.

BUT IT WAS HIS LAST CHAPTER THAT WAS TRULY HIS HAPPIEST.

I MEAN, WE ALL KNOW, AND IF YOU DO NOT KNOW DAD THAT WELL YOU KNOW NOW HE LOVED TO BE ENTERTAINED, HE WAS A THRILL SEEKER.

HE WAS ALWAYS LOOKING THE NEXT BEST SHOW, THE NEXT GAME.

HE WOULD TELL YOU THE GREATEST SHOW IN LIFE WITH JUST BEING WITH FAMILY.

IF LEBRON OR TOM BRADY WAS ON TV THAT TOPPED US SOMETIMES BUT THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

HE WAS SO LOVING, SO SWEET, SO HUMBLE, SO GIVING OF HIS BIG HEART.

FAMILY WAS HIS LIFE.

HE SHOWED HIS LIFE THROUGH ACTION.

HE EVEN STARTED BEING ON TIME, EVEN EARLY, BECAUSE AS HE PUT IT, HE WAS JUST EXCITED TO HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE.

HE CHANGED MY KIDS' DIRT DIAPERS, WHICH IS A BIG DEAL.

NEVER HAD DONE THAT BEFORE.

AND HE WOULD EVEN WAKE UP BEFORE 10:00 A.M. TO WATCH ME ON CNN SOMETIMES, AND THAT WAS A TRUE SACRIFICE FOR DAD BECAUSE HE WAS NOT AN EARLY BIRD.

HE MADE SURE HE EARNED HIS TITLE AS HE WOULD CALL IT, HIS NUMBER ONE FAN.

HE'D WATCH MY SHOW ON CN EVERY WEEKEND, SOMETIMES WATCHING OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO MAKE SURE HE WAS GIVING ME THE BEST POSSIBLE FEEDBACK, AND I'D CALL HUM AFTER EVERY SHOW AND I WOULD SAY, I GUESS I WILL SAY IT, I'D CALL HIM AND HE'D ANSWER THE PHONE AND I'D SAY, DADDY-O!

HE WOULD ALWAYS, I'M JUST SO DAMN PROUD OF YOU, I JUST CAN'T GET OVER IT.

I JOUST LOVED HEARING THAT EXCITEMENT IN HIS VOICE BECAUSE IT MADE ME FEEL SO GOOD.

THEN HE WOULD PULL OUTED HIS NOTES.

HE WOULD SAY, GIVE ME A SECOND HERE.

HE HAD PULL OUT HIS NOTES AND GIVE ME THE FEEDBACK ON SHOW.

AND HE GAVE ME SO MUCH CONFIDENCE TO BELIEVE IN MYSELF, AND THAT IS SUCH A HUGE GIFT THAT I WILL AMS CHERISH AND CARRY WITH ME.

NOTHING CAN REPLACE CONFIDENCE YOU GET FROM A PARENT.

I WILL MISS THOSE CALLS BEYOND MEASURE.

I'LL MISS THE FACE TIMES.

I'M GOING TO MISS IT IS ALL.

BUT I JUST EVERYONE IS HERE TODAY DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR ME.

DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR ME.

MY DAD ALWAYS SAID, SUCCESS IN LIFE WAS A LOT ABOUT LUCK, AND I CONSIDER MY LIFE A HUGE SUCCESS BECAUSE OF THE LUCK I'VE HAD BEING MY DADDY H O'S DAUGHTER.

THANK YOU.

DAD-O'S DAUGHTER.

THANK YOU.

>> .

>> I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW MANY HEALTH ISSUES I HAVE READING IT AND HOW LUCKY WE WERE THAT HE WAS WITH US ALL THESE YEARS.

HE ALMOST DIDN'T MAKE IT WHEN PAM WAS IN MY MOM'S BELLY AND I WAS THREE.

I THINK YOU HAD A 30% CHANCE, RIGHT?

SPECIAL THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL THE EX-GOVERNORS LETTING US BE HERE.

UNFORTUNATELY AFTER TWO YEARS TO DO IT AGAIN, BUT SO SPECIAL TO DAD, AND THESE HALLS ARE SO SPECIAL TO MY DAD.

28,835, THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS IN A HUMAN LIFE.

MY DAD EKED OUT A FEW MORE AND I THINK.

>>> IN THIS ROOM WOULD AGREE THAT FEW PEOPLE EVER HAD MORE LIFE IN THEIR DAYS THAN JOHN Y.

BROWN, JR.

THERE'S A LOT KNOWN ABOUT MY DAD, ALL THAT HAPPENED BEFORE I WAS BORN AND YOU ALL KNOW IT.

THE STORY VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW THAT I GET TO SHARE TODAY IS JOHN Y.

BROWN, JR. AS A FATHER.

BEFORE I GET INTO THE FATHER HE BECAME, LET ME GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE INTO OUR CHILDHOOD.

AS I WAS GROWING UP, AND I'M SURE HE SAID TO JOHN III, ALSO, DAD WOULD ALSO TELL WITH US GREAT PRIDE THE MOST SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP IN LIFE IS THAT A FATHER AND SON AS I THINK HE WAS REFLECTING HAD OIS HEN RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER.

AND WHILE BECAUSE OF FAMILY DYNAMICS WE HAD LIMITED TIME TOGETHER, WE DID CHERISH EVERY MOMENT, THINKING BACK DAD WAS NEVER MOTIVATED BY MATERIAL POSSESSIONS, BUT HE ONCE HAD A I CAR THAT WAS SO WORN DOWN AND BEATEN UP THAT HIS BUSINESS PARTNER WAS EMBARRASSED TO BE AROUND HIM AND BOUGHT HIM A NEW ONE.

WITH RESTAURANTS ON SUNDAYS AFTER CHURCH WHEN IT WAS HIS TURN TO CHOOSE, HE'D ALWAYS CHOOSE THE WAFFLE HOUSE EVERY SINGLE TIME MUCH TO MY MOM'S CHAGRIN, AND HE ALWAYS LOVED TO BRAG ABOUT HIS $20 WATCHES.

A REAL THING PRIDE FOR HIM.

NOT AN OUTSIDE THE DARCY DOORSMAN.

DAD WOULD ALWAYS SAY, LINK, I'M A CARPET AND AIR CONDITIONING GUY.

SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AT THE TRACK, UK, WATCHING UofL FOOTBALL DAMES GAMES.

DAD LOVED THE HORSES, FOOTBALL, SOMETIMES THREE TVs GOING AT THE SAME TIME.

AS MUCH AS ANYTHING, I REMEMBER MY SUMMER VISITS TO FLORIDA TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM WHERE WE'D GO TO THE OFFICE AND STYMES NOT COME BACK UNTIL AS LATE AS MIDNIGHT.

WE'D LAY IN BED TOGETHER AND HE'D TELL ME ABOUT HAS A DID I AND PROBLEMS AND ALWAYS LOVED TO TALK ABOUT HIS DISDAIN FOR BUREAUCRACY.

MORE THAN ANYTHING, I REMEMBER THIZATION HE WOULD DRILL INTO US AD NASEUM.

I'M SURE MY SIBLINGS REMEMBER SOME.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE, I THINK I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD I COULDN'T FIGURE SOMETHING OUT AND HE LOOKED ME SQUARE IN THE EYE, BROWN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING?

YOU'D FIGURE IT HAD OUT.

AND HE SAID IT A HUNDRED TIMES IN MY LIFE, A THOUSAND.

JUST FIGURE IT POUT WHEN HE TALKED TO US BIN INTEGRITY, LINCOLN, THERE'S THE TRUTH.

AND THE REAL TRUTH.

I WANT TO IS THE REAL TRUTH.

THE IF I EVER QUESTIONED MY ABILITY, HE'D SAY LINCOLN, THERE ARE NO GENIUSES.

SUCCESS IS IF YOU'RE WILLING TO OUTWORK EVERYBODY ELSE.

ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITES EVEN DURING SOME OF OUR TOUGHER TIMES AS A FAMILY, HE LOVED TO SAY, WHO'S GOT IT BERN WE DO?

AND HE WOULD WANT ME TO SAY BACK, NO ONE.

MORE ON THAT LATER.

ONE THAT IMPACTED ME THE MOST VERY SIMPLY, LINCOLN, YOU'RE HERE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, SON.

HE SAID IT A THOUSAND TIMES.

MOVING IN MY UPBRINGING I TOLD DAD LEOTARDS STRONG EXPENDED STRONG AND HE EARNED WE LEARN A LOT FROM THE MIDDLE YEARS.

THE STORY I WANT THREE HAVE YOU WITH TODAY IS WHO MY DAD BRAME THE LAST FEW YEARS IS TRULY INCREDIBLE.

AT THE START YOU'VE HEARD FROM SOME OF THE STORIES YOU HEARD FROM JOHN AND PAM, YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT DAD WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT HIS SENSE OF HUMOR.

DAD WOULD COME OVER EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT AND RAS YEAR HE CAME BY THE HOUSE ONE SUNDAY AND WILL AND JULIE AND I AND FINALLY HAD A SIT-DOWN SERIOUS TALK WITH HIM AND I SAID, DAD, IT'S NOTE SAFE FOR YOU TO BE ON THE ROADS ANYMORE.

AND IF ANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN CRAZY ENOUGH TO DRIVE WITH MY DAD, YOU'RE WONDERING WHY I DIDN'T HAVE THE TALK SOONER.

AND SO AS I EXPLAINED THIS TO DAD, IN TYPICAL DAD FASHION, HE ENT WITH STRAIGHT INTO LAWYER MODE AS IF HE WERE PRESENTING TO A JURY.

HOW CAN YOU TAKE AWAY A MAN'S FREEDOM?

HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO I YOUR FATHER AND TAKE AWAY MY DIGNITY AND HOO HE WOULD GO ON AND ON.

HE WOULD QUOTE DIFFERENT PEOPLE, HISTORICAL REFERENCES.

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THIS IS A JURY OF ONE AND I HAD HEARD SPES THESE SPEECHES FOR 40 YEARS.

I SAID, TAD, LET'S TAKE A WEEK.

THE NEXT YOU SUNDAY I CALLED.

HE DIDN'T PICK UP.

WE HAVE A RULE IN OUR UMY FAMILY, IF YOU CALL TWICE YOU HAVE TO PICK UP.

I SAID, DAD, ARE YOU DOING OKAY?

HE SAID, I'M GOING DOING GREAT JUST GREAT.

I WAS THINKING ALL NIGHT AND MORNING ABOUT OUR CONVERSATION.

SON, YOU'RE SO WISE.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, I SHOULDN'T DRIVE ANYMORE.

I SAID, THANKS, DAD.

BUTTED I'M THINKING IN MY MIND, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE YOU ADMITTED YOU WERE WRONG.

I JUST SAID, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU.

TO WHICH HE RESPONDED, THANK YOU.

BUT AS AN ASIDE IT'S EASIER TO TALK ABOUT THIS NICE POLICE MAN HER IN THE AMBULANCE.

I GOT IN A WRECK HALF AN HOUR AGO.

>> HE BROKE HIS NECK.

I WENT TO THE 407 AND I WAS WORRIED ABOUT HIS MENTAL PSYCHE.

HE HAD A BROKEN NECK, JUST BEEN IN A SERIOUS CAR WRECK.

HE LOOKED TERRIBLE.

I WALKED IN.

FIRST INNINGS HE SOUTHWEST DAD, HOW ARE YOU DOING?

I'VE NEVER BEEN BETTER.

I'M ALIVE, MAN UP.

I'M ALIVE.

THIS LIFE IS TOO GOOD.

IT'S JUST TOO GOOFED A DEAL.

AND HE -- GOOD.

A DEAL ME.

SAID, DON'T WORRY ABOUT MY NECK.

I ONLY HAVE TO WEAR THIS BRACE FOR A MONTH OR TWO.

IT'S NOT THAT BAD.

NO ONE ELSE WOULD SAY THAT.

SO IT MAKES YOU WONDER HOW ALMOST AT 89 HE WAS STILL SO VIBRANT AND ALERT AND HARDLY LOST A STEP.

HE ONLY STARTED EXERCISING AND EATING WELL IN RECENT YEARS, SO WHAT WAS IT?

DAD HAD A MANIACALLY POSITIVE MINDSET EVEN AND ESPECIALLY WHEN IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO ANYONE.

NO MATTER YOU HOW BAD IF SITUATION WAS, HE LOOKED AT THE POSITIVE.

EVERY BUSINESS ACTUALLY HAD THE CHANCE TO BE THE NEXT KFC.

HE ALWAYS TOLD ME THERE'S NO USE IN WORRYING.

NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.

I ASKED DAD, WHERE DID THIS TRAIT COME FROM IS IF AND HE SAID HIS PAW PAW.

HE WAS A GREAT LAN MAN, HIS FATHER, OUR GRANDFATHER BUT HE SAID HE LOST 15 ELECTIONS.

EVERY DAY AFTER A LOSS HE WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING AND IT WAS JUST JOHN LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED.

HE SAID I GOT USED TO IT.

YOU GET KNOCKED DOWN AND GET BACK UP AND FIGHT HARDER NEXT TIME.

I THOUGHT THIS WEEK IF YOU WERE TO TRULY STUDY DAD'S LIFE AND YOU LOOKED TO OTHER NOTABLE MEN AND WOMEN THROUGH HISTORY, YOU WOULD CERTAINLY FIND PEOPLE WHO WERE SMARTER, HAD BETTER GIFTS AND CERTAINLY BETTER HABITS BUT YOU WOULD FIND NO ONE, AND I REALLY BELIEVE THIS, AS NATURALLY POSITIVE AS HIM, ESPECIALLY IN ITS FACE OF ADVERSITY.

MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE THIS WEEK, IT'S BEEN ON MY HEART IS THIS NEW DEFINITION OF LOVE I LEARNED FROM MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY FATHER.

IT'S BEEN SAID SO GREAT LOVE IS ACHIEVED WITHOUT STRUGGLE, AND NO WORDS BETTER DESCRIBE DAD AND I.

THE LOVE HE SHARED WITH WITHOUT MEASURE, MAYBE ONLY EQUALED BY THE STRUGGLE.

AS A CHILD YOU GROW UP WITH WHAT MAY BEST BE DESCRIBED AS A POLY YANNICK DEFINITION OF LOVE, SMILES, HUGS, CELEBRATIONS.

THEN ALL OF US AS WE GROW SO DOES YOUR DEFINITION OF LOVE AND IT OFTEN INCLUDES THE NITTY, THE GRITTY, THE MESSY WHERE HE LEARN TO LOVE THE PARTS OF EACH OTHER THAT MIGHT BE HARD TO LOVE.

FOR SOME, THE SPECIAL FEW IN YOUR LIFE, YOU DECIDE TO GO INTO THE TRENCHES.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHY.

YOU JUST DO.

AND YOU ONLY UNDERSTAND WHY IN HINDSIGHT BECAUSE IT IS DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE SENSE IN THE MOMENT, AND IF YOU GET THROUGH IT YOU FIND OUT NOT ONLY DOES IT BUILD A LOVE THAT IS BEYOND WORDS, BUT YOU'RE BOTH BETTER FOR IT.

WITH DAD AND I DURING THE MIDDLE YEARS WE HAD OUR RECKONING AND IT DIDN'T COME WITHOUT BRUISES OR SCARS.

OFTEN SO HARD WE COULDN'T BE IN THE SAME ROOM TOGETHER.

BUT WE NEVER GAVE UP.

AND IN THOSE TIMES WHAT WOULD FOLLOW IS LITERALLY HUNDREDS PAGES OF LETTERS BACK IS AND FORTH AND A WAY TO BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER THAT THE OTHER PERSON DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT.

LOOKING BACK WE ASKED OURSELVES WHY DONE GIVE UP?

ON PAPER IT'S AN EASY THING TO DO.

AT THE TIME THE ADVICE THAT WE PROBABLY BOTH GOT FROM THE WISE PEOPLE IN OUR LIFE, BUT IT WASN'T TRUE IN EITHER OF OUR HEARTS.

AND IN LIFE, ESPECIALLY A LIFE WELL LIVED, WE LEARNED TO FOLLOW THE COMPASS OF OUR HEARTS, NOT THE COURSE OF OTHERS' EXPECTATIONS.

I ASKED MYSELF WHETHER TO EVEN REFERENCE THIS TODAY.

WAS THE DEFINING TIME IN DAD AND I'S RELATIONSHIP.

'67 ALL THE MOMENTS IN LIFE WHEN WE LOOK BACK AT THE END, DAD AND I WOULD TALK ABOUT IN LAST DAYS IN HIS HOSPITAL BED, IT COMES DOWN TO LOVE, WHO WE DECIDE TO LOVE AND WHO LOVES US BACK.

AND THE GREATEST TRIUMPHS OF LOVE OVEN HAVE THE GREATEST STRUGGLE.

DAD LOVED TO SUPPORTED US, SUPPORT ALLS, AND BUILD UPS.

I ALWAYS APPRECIATED GLOWING UP IT WAS OFTEN ABOUT WORLDLY SUCCESS, WHETHER IT WAS A BUSINESS DEAL I HAD DONE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IT ALWAYS FELT A LITTLE HOLLOW.

KINDERGARTENS FILL MY SOUL.

IN REFLECTING WHY THIS WEEK IT WAS CLEARLY BECAUSE THE WORLD WE GREW UP IN, WHAT YOU REFER TO AS THE GLITZ AND GLAMOR OF SUCH A PUBLIC LIFE, NOT ALL BUT SO MANY OF THE RELATIONSHIPS, THEY WEREN'T REAL.

AND WHILE SEEMING TO HAVE IT ALL, SOME OF HE IS PEOPLE THAT THEIR NORTH STAR OF MONEY AND FAME AND SUCCESS WAS A MIRAGE.

IT WAS NEVER ENOUGH.

AND THAT LIFESTYLE IF YOU ASK ANY OF THE SIBLINGS AND PAM, IT CAN BE A HARD WAY TO GROW UP.

BUT WHAT IT GAVE US AND GAVE ME IS TRUE SUCCESS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE HEADLINES IT.

COMES DOWN TO WHAT'S REAL, WHAT ENDURES AND IT ANCHORS ON THE FAMILY AND THOSE SPECIAL PEOPLE WHO WILL BE SITTING WHERE ALL ARE SITTING ONE DAY.

THOSE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS OFTEN DON'T COME OUT OF WHAT SOMEONE CAN DO FORE YOU JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY LOVE.

IN SOME CASES LOVE IS ALL THEY CAN GIVE.

YOU THROUGH THE FIRE THAT FORGE DAD AND MY LOVE IS IS AND THE SAME FOR MY SIBLINGS DAD GREW IN THE PURE SENSE OF THE WORLD.

THE IF YOU COULD SPEND TIME WITH HIS HIM IN HE IS FINAL YEARS IT WAS SUFFICIENT A GIFT.

IT WAS A DREAM 5 FOR EACH OF YOU HE LOOKED FOR THE BEST IN YOU AND HE USUALLY FOUND IT HAD.

HE BELIEVED IN EVERY ONE OF YOU, SOMETIMES MORE THAN YOU BELIEVED IN YOURSELF.

FOR MY SIBLINGS WE GOT TO SEE DAD TRANNED FORMS INTO THE FATHER EACH OF US COULD ONLY ETCH DREAM OF.

FOR DAD AND I ESPECIALLY IN THESE LAST FEW YEARS DAD CHANGED HIS TENOR FROM TALKING ABOUT BUSINESS TO TALKING ABOUT LOVE.

HE LOVED TO LOVE.

THE WAY HE EMBRACED WILL, THE YOUNG MAN FROM TRANSNEE RAW INTO OUR FAM WITH OPEN ARMS, ALWAYS GIVING HIM CONFIDENCE, THE WAY HE TREATED JULIE WAS A SIXTH CHILD.

AND TALK ABOUT JOHN JOHN AND SISSY AND PAM, NOT ONLY BRAS OF THEIR CAREER BUT PROUDY OF THEM AS THEIR RELATIONSHIPS THEY HAD, HOW THEY SHOWED UP EVERY DAY.

AND HE FINALLY GAVE ME THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT OF MY LIFE, THE ONE THAT MEANT FAR MORE THAN ALL THE REST COMBINED.

HE SAID, SON, TAUGHT ME WHAT REAL LOVE IS.

YOU TAUGHT ME WHAT FAMILY IS.

THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME FOR EVERYTHING WE WENT THROUGH.

AND IT WASN'T UNTIL THIS WEEK THAT I REALIZED HOW MUCH HE REALLY TAUGHT ME ABOUT WHAT TRUE LOVE WAS.

IN DAD'S FINAL DAYS IN THE HOSPITAL HE GAVE A BEAUTIFUL SPEECH ABOUT HOW LOVE IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR.

IT WAS FOR US, AND IF THERE'S ANYONE IN YOUR LIFE YOU'D SAY IT WAS WORTH IT HAD FOR YOU TOO.

THERE'S NO MORE FITTING TRIBUTE FOR DAD WHEN WHAT HE HAD SAID ABOUT FATHERS AND SONS CAME FRU.

IN THE HOMESTRETCH IT WAS THE MOST SPECIAL REVELATION MY LIFE.

WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DAD'S LIFE ONE DAY, IT DESERVES TO BE SAID THAT THE HIRES JOURNEY DAD'S DAYS HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH KFC AND HIS TIME WALKING HE IS HALLS.

IT'SEUX HOW HE LEARNED TO LIVE THIS NEW DEFINITION OF LOVE SO DEFINITIVELY AND THERE WERE NO HEADLINES EXCEPT WHEN HE ETCHED INTO EACH OUR HEARTS.

LOS ANGELES CLOSING, THINKING ABOUT DAD'S EULOGY TODAY HE WOULD HAVE WANTED IT TO DOVER COVER WHAT WAS HE KNOWN FOR, WHATLIY WILL HOOBY REMEMBERED FOR, AND HOW MIGHT WE LIVE OUR LIVES DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE OF HIS.

HIS OBEY OBITUARY IN THE NEWS COVERED WHAT HE WAS KNOWN FOR AND HOPEFULLY TODAY WE WILL BE GIVING YOU SOMETHING TO REMEMBER HIM FOR.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT HOW WE ALL MIGHT LIVE OUR LIFE DIFFERENTLY, I REFLECTED ON BEDSIDE CHATS IN THE HOSPITAL DURING HIS FINAL WEEKS.

IF HE WAS HERE TODAY, HE'D LEAVE YOU WITH THESE WORDS OF ADVICE.

QUO GET EXCITED ABOUT EACH OF YOUR 28,835 DAYS.

LIFE IS TOO GOOFED A DEAL."

THEN HE WOULD DISCUSS AND I WANT YOU TO ANSWER THEY END LIKE I DID AS A CHILD, WHO'S GOT IT BETTER THAN I DO?

>> NO ONE.

>> ALL RIGHT.

HOLD ON HERE.

DAD LOVED TO SAY NOTHING GREAT IS LIFE IN EVER ACHIEVED WITHOUT ENTHUSIASM.

[LAUGHTER] IF YOU NEED SOME INSPIRATION, WE LIVE IN THE GREAT STATE OF KENTUCKY AND WE'RE HERE TO CELEBRATE A GREAT MAN SO THIS TIME SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT.

WHO'S GOT IT BETTER THAN WE DO?

>> NO ONE!

>> THERE WE GO.

SECOND, DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS.

EVEN AT 80, WHILE HOLDING A CANE, SHE HAD IN ALL SINCERITY, I THINK I'VE GOT ONE MORE BIG RUN LEFT IN ME.

[LAUGHTER] AND HE BELIEVED IT.

AND MANY OF YOU ARE IN YOUR 60s AND MAYBE LETTING YOUR ELSE DRA GO BUT HE SAID, REMEMBER, YOUR BEST YEARS ARE AHEAD OF YOU.

THEY WERE FOR ME.

THIRDED, DAD WOULD TELL YOU HE'S BEEN ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.

FAME, CAREER, SUCCESS.

BUT REPEATEDLY SAID IN HIS LAST FEW YEARS THAT THE LOVE HE FELT FROM HIS FAMILY AND CLOSEST FRIENDS WAS FAR MORE FULFILLING, AND HE WOULD TELL YOU FOR THOSE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN LIFE THEY ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR.

THEY ARE.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, DAD LANDED IN THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE OF LOVE, EVEN JOY INSIDE THE PAIN OF DYING.

FOR HIM TO WRITE, BARELY BE ABLE TO WRITE IN HIS FINAL DAYS, I'M THE HAPPIEST I'VE EVER BEEN, AND MEANT IT, DON'T WE ALL HOPE WE CAN FIND THAT JOY AND PEACE ONE DAY?

I WANTED IT IN THERE BUT WILL WAS ONE STORY THAT IS SO UNIQUELY MY DAD AND HAD TO BE TOLD.

A FEW WEEKS AGO IN THE HOSPITAL MY DAD ASKED MY SISTERS SANDY AND SISSY, DO YOU THINK I'LL GO TO HEAVEN?

SANDY RESPONDED, WELL, DAD, DO YOU BELIEVE JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD?

HE PAUSE AND HE THOUGHT TO HIMSELF, HE SAID, ABOUT 85, 85 PERCENT.

[LAUGHTER] ALL TRUE.

SO SANDY LAUGHED AND SAID, WELL, DAD, WE NEED TO GET YOU TO 100 PERCENT.

HE THOUGHT AGAIN, PAUSED FOR A WHILE AND SAID WITH A TWINKLE IN HIS EYE, DO YOU THINK JESUS WILL ROUND UP?

[LAUGHTER] SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN A PRAYER FOR MY FATHER IF YOU ALL WILL.

FATHER, JOHN Y.

BROWN, JR. IS ONE OF THE SPECIAL SOULS WE HAVE EVER KNOWN.

PLEASE HELP US TO LEARN FROM THE EXAMPLE OF HIS LIFE.

HELP US TO BE GRATEFUL FOR JUST HOW GOOD WE HAVE IT, THE TO LIVE EACH DAY TO THE FULLEST, TO BUILD OUR DREAMS AND BUILD EACH OTHER UP AND REMEMBER AT THE END OF THE DAY LOVE SAUL THAT TRULY MATTERS.

JESUS, ON BEHALF OF MY DAD AND HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS AND FAMILY, WE ASK THAT YOU WILL ROUND UP.

IN YOUR NAME WE PRAY.

AMEN.

AND THE ONE THE LAST THING WE'RE GOING TO SHOW MIKE IS THE VIDEO OF DAD, JUST A REAL QUICK VIDEO THAT SHOWS WHO HE BECAME THESE THE LAST FEW RULES.

PAM AND I HAD A RULE, DAD ALWAYS NEEDED TO BE MOTIVATED, SO WE WERE NEVER TEXT HIM BACK UNTIL HE TEXTED US A SELFIE AFTER HE WALKED A MILE EACH NIGHT.

SO WE'RE GOING TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

>> I WALKED THREE-QUARTERS OF A OF A MILE.

PRETTY GOOD.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY.

HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GOOD DAY.

LIFE IS GOOD.

OKAY?

LET'S GO FOR IT.

SEE YOU!

♪ ♪ >> SO AS YOU SAW THERE, Y'ALL COME UP.

SANDY, SIS, JOHN JOHN.

SO AS YOU SAW THERE, MY DAD WOULD GET UPSET WITH US IF WE DIDN'T RESPOND BACK TO ONE HIS WALK TEXTS OR VIDEOS, BUT HE WOULD STILL BEGRUDGINGLY GO OUT AND WALK AND SENDS A PICTURE, AND AS YOU SAW THERE, HE SAID YOU KNOW I WORK FOR APPLAUSE, YOU KNOW.

THAT'S SO PERFECTLY CAPTURED OUR DAD'S MOTIVATION.

HE WOULD APPLAUD US BUT HE ALSO EXPECTED APPLAUSE IN RETURN.

SO I'LL ASK NOW FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN TO STAND UP AND GIVE HIM ONE LAST ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR A LIFE WELL LIVED.

[APPLAUSE] DADDY-O!

>> WOW, THAT WAS SO TOUCHING, MOVING.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR GETTING YOUR THOUGHTS TOGETHER AND SAYING WHAT YOU SAID.

I WANT TO THANK EVERETT AND TEDRIN AND JOHN AND MELVIN FOR THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE STAFF THAT WORKS HERE.

THANK YOU TO MILL WARDS FOR YOUR KIND AND CARING MINISTRY THAT YOU HAVE, GOVERNOR BESHEAR AND JIM AND JOHN AND PAM AND LINCOLN.

WOW.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT ALL OF YOU SHARED.

IT WAS JUST SO GRACIOUS GRACIOUS AND GOOD AND KIND AND I'M TAKING NOTES AS YOU GUYS ARE TALKING BECAUSE IT WAS SO, SO GOOD AND SANDY AND SIS AND GRANDKIDS.

WHAT A LEGACY THAT JOHN Y.

LEAVES.

IT'S A LEGACY OF LOVE AND FAMILY.

SO, SO GRATEFUL THAT WE ALL GOT TO BE HERE TODAY.

I'VE KNOWN THIS FAMILY FOR OVER 25 YEARS NOW, AND I MET JOHN AT CHURCH.

I LOVED JOHN.

THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT HIM LIKE EVERYBODY SAID, YOU COULDN'T HELP BUT LIKE HIM, JUST A VERY CHARISMATIC GUY.

HE WAS THERE ALMOST EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

I REMEMBER ONE TIME I GOT UP TO PREACH AND THE PLACE WAS REALLY JAM PACKED.

WE WERE EXPERIENCING SOME GROWTH.

GOD WAS JUST BRINGING PEOPLE.

AND JOHN USUALLY SAT OVER HERE AND I LOOKED AND HE WASN'T THERE.

I LOOKED AND UP HE WAS SITTING ON THE STEPS IN THE BALCONY, HE WAS ON THE STEPS BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE TO BE THERE, PERCHED HIMSELF ON THE STEPS.

HE WOULD SHOW UP OCCASIONAL AT OUR COLLEGE AID SERVICE AT 6:38 AND HE'D BE THERE IN A FLANNEL SHIRT.

THAT'S JOHN AT THE COLLEGE AGE MINISTRY.

I WAS AT THE COLLEGE GAME, SEC.

I WAS TALKING TO SOMEONE AND SOMEONE COMES UP BEHIND ME AND BEAR HUGS ME AND I TURNED AROUND TWIT AND IT WAS JOHN.

HE ALWAYS HAD AN ENCOURAGING THING TO SAY TO ME.

I WAS ALWAYS REALLY ENVIOUS-US HIS HAIR.

UP UNTIL THE DAY HE PASSED.

IT'S JUST NOT FAIR.

IT'S JUST NOT FAIR.

YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE EXACT SAY.

WAY, JOHN.

LINCOLN, I DON'T KNOW.

YOU'RE ON THE BUBBLE.

[LAUGHTER] BUT, HEY, IT'S OVERRATED.

I'M JUST TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW.

BUT JOHN AND I, WE SPENT SOME TIME TOGETHER DURING SOME DIFFICULT YEARS AND WE HAD OCCASIONAL BREAKFAST TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THE STUFF HE WAS GOING THROUGH, SOME FAMILY DYNAMICS, AND JUST TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, HE HAD SOME VERY VULNERABLE CONVERSATIONS, VERY HONEST ABOUT SOME STUFF.

AND WE TALKED ABOUT THINGS THAT MEN DON'T OFTEN TALKING ABOUT LIKE INSECURITY AND PRIDE AND HOW SUCCESS CAN MAKE US GET ADDICTED TO THE SPOTLIGHT, HOW WE REALLY CAN BECOME ADDICTED TO OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS AND OTHER PEOPLE'S APPLAUSE.

WE TALKED ABOUT HOW BROKENNESS IS ADMITTING OUR WEAKNESS AND HOW IRONICALLY THAT BECOMES OUR GREATEST STRENGTH.

WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT REAL SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE.

IT'S BEEN REALLY FUN FOR ME THROUGHOUT THE YEARS NOW TO WATCH HIS GROWTH AS A PERSON.

LINCOLN TOLD ME THE OTHER DAY, WE WERE TALKING ON THE PHONE, HE GOES, MY DAD JUST DID A COMPLETE 170.

I SAID, THAT'S A GOOD LINE RIGHT THERE.

[LAUGHTER] THE LEASE A GOOD LINE BECAUSE NONE OF IS COULD GET ALL THE WAY TO 180, DO WE?

BUT HE MADE A REALLY BIG TURN WITH HIS LIFE, AND JUST TO HEAR YOU ALL TALK, HE DID.

AND HE BECAME THE KIND OF DAD THAT YOU GUYS KNEW HE COULD BE.

HE WAS ALWAYS GRACIOUS, ALWAYS FUN, KIND, CHARISMATIC, BIG SMILE BUTTED HE TRULY BECAME A -- BUT HE TRULY BECAME A SUCCESSFUL MAN WHO LOVED HIS FAMILY DEEPLY AND WALKED THROUGH HIS DAYS WITH GREAT HUMILITY AND A POSITIVE SPIR AND RIDE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OTHER'S LIVES AND THAT'S WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN AROUND A PERSON WHO'S ALWAYS DROPPING NAMES, TRYING TO IMPRESS YOU WITH WHO THEY KNEW, WHO THEY BUMPED UP TO.

I WENT TO COUSIN WITH THE GUY TO MODE GEORGE CLOONEYES' YARD PUNCH KNOW THAT PERSON?

DROPPING NAMES?

JESUS WAS QUITE THE NAMEDROP, IN THE VERY BEST SENSE OF THE TERM.

HE CAME AND REVEALED A LOT ABOUT GOD BY DROPPING ALL THESE "I AM" STATEMENTS.

JESUS SHOWED UP ON THE SCENE, HE SAID, "I AM THE GATE.

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

I AM THE VINE.

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.

I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

I AM."

THERE'S AN AMAZING SCENE IN WHICH JESUS NOT ONLY DROPS HIS NAME BUT REVEALS THE HOPE THAT HE GIVES ANYONE WHO WILL BELIEVE IN HIM.

JOHN CHAPTER 11, JESUS HAD A BUNCH OF REALLY CLOSE FRIENDS AND SOME OF HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS WITH A MIAMI, MARY AND MARTHA WERE SISTERS CAN AND THEIR BROTHER LAZARUS WERE ALL REALLY TIGHT WITH JESUS, AND JESUS GETS WORD THAT HIS GOOD BUDDY LAZARUS IS GRAVELY ILL, AND ALONG WITH THE MEANINGS WAS THE ASSUMPTION THAT JESUS WOULD COME OVER THE BETHANY AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.

WELL, JESUS DOESN'T RUSH OVER THE BETHANY.

HE INTENTIONALLY STAYS A FEW EXTRA DAYS, AND THEN HE GETS ALL OF HIS GUYS TOGETHER AND THEY GO AFTER HE GETS THE WORD THAT LAZARUS HAS PASSED AWAY.

WELL, THEY GET THERE, AND THEY CAN SEE IN THE DISTANCE A BUNCH OF FRIENDS LOOK YOU, THEY'RE GATHERED JUST TO HELP THE FAMILY GRIEVE, AND THEY'RE CONSOLING THE FAMILY, AND THEY FIND OUT THAT LAZARUS HAS ALREADY BEEN IN THE GRAVE FOR FOUR DAYS.

NOW, JESUS KNOWS THAT HE'S GOING TO BE DEMONSTRATE THAT HE HAS ULTIMATE POWER OVER DEATH BY BRINGING RUSS BACK BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT THAT.

THEY'RE JUST THERE GRIEVING THEIR FRIEND.

AND AS THEY GET THERE ONE OF THE SISTERS, MARTHA, GOES OUT TO MEET JESUS.

ANY OF YOU TAKEN THOSE PERSONALITY TESTS?

HOW MANY THINKERS DO WE HAVE HERE?

ANALYTIC?

HOW MANY FEELERS DO WE HAVE HERE?

WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT THAT WAY, RIGHT?

WELL, MARTHA AND MARY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE POLAR OPPOSITE OF SIBLINGS.

MARY WAS A FEELER, CAUSED UP IN THE MOMENT TYPE OF PERSON, ARTISTIC, EXPRESSIVE.

MARTHA WAS A PLANNER, A THINKER, SO A NO SURPRISE THAT MARTHA COMES OUT TO THE ROAD TO MEET JESUS BEFORE HE GETS TO THE HOUSE, AND SHE'S NOT HAPPY WITH HIM.

SHE DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE A SCENE IN FRONT OF ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE GATHERED AT THE HOUSE.

SHE MEETS HIM ON THE ROAD AND SAYS TO HIM, "LORD, IF ONLY YOU HAD HAVE BEEN HERE, MY BROTHER WOULD NOT HAVE DIED."

HAVE YOU EVER SAID THAT?

MAN, I HAVE.

LORD, IF ONLY, GOD, IF ONLY YOU -- JUST FILL IN THE BLANK.

IN FACT, IF YOU'VE NEVER DONE, THAT YOU YOU NEED TO GET THAT HONEST BECAUSE GOD WANTS US TO.

HE WANT TO TAKE THAT PAIN, TAKE THAT GRIEF.

WHEN IT'S ANGER OR DISILLUSIONMENT, CONFUSION, WHATEVER, I THINK THIS VERSE IS IN THE BIBLE BECAUSE HE WANTS US TO KNOW HE CAN TAKE IT.

HE CAN TAKE ALL THE IF ONLIES 37 APPLAUSE HE WANTS TO.

JESUS EMBRACES AFFORDS IN EVER MARTHA IN A WARM HUG.

I THINK HE LIFTS HER CHIN, WIPES HER TEARS AND HE SAYS THIS, "YOUR BROTHER IS GOING TO RISE AGAIN."

SHE SAID, I KNOW THAT LIKE IN LAST DAYS.

BUTTED I'M TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW, RIGHT NOW IF ONLY YOU HAD HAVE BEEN HERE.

AND JHESSYE SAYS TO HER, HE DROPS HIS NAME, "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE."

I JUST LOVE THAT.

BECAUSE IT'S NO JUST I WILL BE.

NOT JUST I ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

BUT IT'S PRESENT TENSE.

HE IS SAYING, MARTHA, RIGHT NOW ON THIS ROAD, "I AM."

RIGHT NOW IN YOUR GRIEF, RIGHT NOW IN HUR HEARTBREAK, RIGHT NOW IN YOUR CONFUSION, RIGHT NOW IN YOUR ANGER, RIGHT NOW IN 234 YOUR DISAPPOINTMENT WITH ME, RIGHT NOW IN THIS ROTUNDA, I AM.

I'M NOT ONLY THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN FAITHFUL FOR GENERATIONS, I'M NOT ONLY YOUR HOPE FOSTER FOR THE FUTURE ONE AND ONLY RIGHT NOW IN THIS PRESENT MOMENT, AND MAYBE WE JUST NEEDED TO HEAR THIS TODAY, THAT GOD ISN'T DISTANT.

HE'S WITH YOU RYAN, FOR YOU RIGHT NOW, HELPING YOU WORK THROUGH YOUR GRIEF, HELPING YOU NAVIGATE FAMILY CONFLICT, HELPING YOU BEAT THAT ADDICTION RIGHT NOW, PRESENT TENSE.

HE IS.

AND HE CARES DEEPLY.

PLUS THAT FUTURE THANK THAT WE'RE ALL WORRIED ABOUT, THAT THING LURKING OUT THERE FOR EVERYONE, DON'T KID YOURSELF, THE STATS ON DEARTH PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.

ONE IDENTITY ONE PEOPLE DIE.

THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS.

AND INTO THAT JESUS SAYS, "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.

ANYONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL LIVE, EVEN AFTER DYING.

EVERYONE WHO LIST OF IN ME AND LIVES IN BELIEVES IN ME WILL NEVER BE EVER DIE."

AND BEFORE WE WALKS TO THAT GRAVE OF LAZARUS AND KIDNAPPED HIM TO COME OUT, HE PUTS HIS HANDS ON MARTHA'S SHOULDERS AND SAYS, "DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?"

MAN, THAT'S SUCH A HUGE QUESTION.

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

I THINK IT'S A QUESTION I HAVE THROWN OUT THERE AT AM WILL EVERY FUNERAL I'VE EVER DONE.

BECAUSE IT'S AN INVITATION TO HOPE.

IT'S AN INVITATION TO SECURITIES.

IT'S AN INVITATION TO FREEDOM.

IT'S AN INVITATION TO BUILD YOUR LIFE ON SOMETHING THAT'S SOLID AND TRUE AND CERTAIN.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?

IT'S AN INVITATION TO ETERNAL LIFE.

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

AND I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT JOHN SAID, YES, I DO.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM AGAIN.

ANYBODY ELSE LOVE MOVIE TRAILERS ANY LOVE TO GET TO THE MOVIE EARLY SO YOU CAN SEE THE TRAILERS OF COMING ATTRACTIONS.

A LOT OF TIMES THE MOVIE'S NOT NEARLY AS GOOD AS THE TRAILER, AND SOMETIMES YOU WALK AWAY DISAPPOINTED, BUT I'M TELLING YOU NOT SO WITH GOD.

I LOVE THIS VERSE FROM SCRIPTURE 2 HINS CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5, WE'VE BEEN GIVEN A GLIMPSE OF THE REAL THIN.

OUR TRUE HOME, OUR RESURRECTION BODIES, THE SPIRIT OF GOD WETTEST OUR APPETITES BY GIVING US A TASTE OF WHAT'S AHEAD.

HE PUTS A LITTLE OF HEAVEN IN OUR HEARTS SO WE'LL NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS.

MAN, I LOVE THAT.

BECAUSE AS GOOD AS IT CAN KET GETTING HERE IN IN LIFE, AND IT HAD CAN GET REALLY, REALLY GOOD SOMETIMES, IT'S STILL JUST A PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS.

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THIS HOPE, THIS HOPE WILL NOT DISAPPOINT.

LISTEN TO ME.

THERE'S A DAY COMING WHERE EVERY DAY IS GOING TO BE FULL OF JOY.

EVERY DAY IS GOING TO BE FULL OF PASSION.

EVERY DAY IS GOING TO BE FULL OF PURPOSE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT, PLACE WHERE ALL THE THING THAT WE LOVE TO DO, WILL BE UNHINDER BY EVIL OR IMPERFECTIONS BECAUSE THOSE THINGS WILL NO LONGER EXIST, NO MORE WRESTLING WERE WITH TEMPTATION, BULLYING, REJECTION, RACISM, TEMPTATION, NO MORE BETRAILER BECAUSE EVIL WILL BE HISTORY.

IT'S PLACE WHERE ALL OF OUR INNER LONGINGS WILL BE FULFILLED.

SOME OF YOU LIVE WITH PHYSICAL PAIN EVERY DAY.

BUT THERE'S A DAY COMING WHEN YOUR BODY IS GOING TO BE PAIN-FREE AND FLEXIBLE AND QUICK AND FIT AND PERFECT, NO NEED FOR COUNTING CALORIES ON CARBS OR FAT GRAMS, SOW NO SUPPLEMENTS, LINCOLN, NO GLASSES, NO HEARING AIDES, NO WHEEL CARES, ARTIFICIAL LIMPS OR ARTHRITIS, NO HMO HEALS.

NO CHEMO.

NEW BODIES.

SOME OF YOU LIVE WITH EMOTIONAL PAIN EVERY DAY.

NO TEARS IN HEAVEN.

NO STRUGGLE WITH DEPRESSION.

NO ANXIETY.

NO PANIC ATTACKS.

NO PAINFUL MEMORIES.

NO FLASH BAGS.

NO BAGGAGE.

NO WITHDRAWAL.

NO BROKEN HEARTS.

NO TEARS.

60 SECONDS AFTER WE DIE WE CAN THROW AWAY OUR iPHONES AND OUR KLEENEX.

I LOVE STANDING AT AIRPORTS WATCHING TROOPS GET REUNITED.

IT'S SO FUN TO WATCH SOME SOLDIER COME DOWN THE ESCALATOR WITH THEIR BAGGAGE CLAIM AND A LITTLE GIRL, LITTLE BOY RUNS, MOMMY, DADDY, AND THEY JUST HUG THEM.

SIGHTS SO FUN TO WATCH NAPE CAN'T WAIT TO STAND OVER IN A CORNER HETCH AND JUST WATCH SOME OF YOU GET REUNITED TO SOME OF YOUR LOVED ONES.

I CAN'T WHAT IT TO WATCH Y'ALL HUG YOUR MOM AND DAD.

I WANT TO SEE MY MOM AND DAD AGAIN.

IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS.

YOU WANT TO SEE SO MANY OF THE FRIENDS FROM CHURCHES THAT WE'VE SERVED THROUGH THE YEARS.

WE'RE GOING TO COME TOGETHER FROM EVERY TONGUE AND TRIBE AND NATION, AND WE'RE GOING TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP THE ONE WHO MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE BECAUSE HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE.

YOU KNOW, JESUS WAS QUITE THE NAME DROPPER.

AND WE ALL HAVE QUESTIONS, WE ALL HAVE FEARS, WE ALL HAVE ANXIETIES AND QUESTIONS.

JOHN HAD A BUNCH.

WE HAVE QUESTIONS LIKE, WHO IS GOING TO DO MAKE SURE THAT GOOD WILL FINALLY PREVAIL OVER EVIL?

AND JESUS SAYS, I AM.

IS THERE ANY TRUTH, REALLY, OUT THERE?

"I AM."

IF HIGH HUSBAND REALLY DOES WALK OUT ON US, WHO IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF US?

"I AM."

WHAT IF THE CHEMO ISN'T ENOUGH?

"I AM."

WHO IS SMART ENOUGH TO FIGURE OUT THIS CRAZY LIFE OF MINE?

"I AM."

I DESPERATELY NEED SOMETHING FRESH IN MY LIFE.

"I AM."

LEADERS ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES.

IS THERE ANYONE WHO IS REALLY REAL?

"I AM."

NOBODY'S LISTENING!

"I AM."

WHO IS GOING TO STAY WITH ME IN THIS BIG EMPTY HOUSE NOW?

"I AM."

I'M GOING UNDER.

SOMEBODY HELP!

"I AM."

MY FAMILY DESERVES SO MUCH MORE.

"I AM."

THIS WORLD IS SUCH A MESS.

WHO WILL EVER FIX IT?

I AM.

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE, ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE, AND BECAUSE OF JESUS WE'LL GET TOGETHER THEN, DAD.

GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME THEN.

FATHER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WORDS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED TODAY.

SO MANY OF THEM COME FROM SUCH A DEEP PLACE.

THANK YOU, AS LINCOLN SAID, THAT LOVE IS WHERE WE ALL HAVE TO LAND SOME DAY.

THAT LOVING YOU AND LOVING PEOPLE IS WHAT YOU PUT ON US THIS PLANET TO DO.

THANK YOU FOR THE DIFFERENCE THAT JOHN MADE WITH HIS LIFE.

THANK YOU FOR THE LESSONS LEARNED.

THANK YOU FORT THE LEGACY HE LEAVES.

THANK YOU FOR THE THE WAY HE PASSED THAT INFECTIOUS LOVE FOR LIFE TO SO MANY PEOPLE.

FATHER, I PRAY THAT TODAY HAS BEEN VERY HONORING TO HIM, BUT LIKE WE PRAYEDTE IN THE BEGINNING THAT IT'S EVEN MORE SO TO YOU BECAUSE, GOD, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT CHANGES LIVES.

YOU'RE THE ONES THAT HEALS OLD HURTS.

YOU'RE THE ONE THAT TRANSFORMS NEWS THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT YOU WANT US TO BE, AND I THANK YOU FORE THE WAY YOU HAVE DONE THAT IN HIS LIFE.

AND IT'S IN JESUS' NAME I PRAY.

AMEN.

>> PLEASE STAND AND SING WITH US, "MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME."

♪ THE CUN SHINES BRIGHT ON MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME ♪ ♪ 'TIS SUMMER, THE PEOPLE ARE GAY ♪ ♪ THE CORN TOP'S RIPE AND AND THE MEADOW'S IN THE BLOOM ♪ ♪ WHILE THE BIRDS MAKE MUSIC ALL THE DAY ♪ ♪ THE YOUNG FOLKS ROLL ON THE LITTLE CABIN FLOOR ♪ ♪ ALL MERRY, ALL HAPPY AND BRIGHT ♪ ♪ YOU.

♪ BY AND BY HARD TIMES COMES A KNOCKING AT THE DOOR ♪ ♪ THEN MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME, GOOD NIGHT!

♪ ♪ WEEP NO MORE MY LADY ♪ ♪ OH WEEP NO MORE TODAY ♪ ♪ WE WILL SING ONE SONG FOR MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME ♪ ♪ FOR MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME FAR AWAY.

♪ ♪ WEEP NO MORE MY LADY ♪ ♪ OH WEEP NO MORE TODAY ♪ ♪ WE WILL SING ONE SONG FOR MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME ♪ ♪ FOR MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME FAR AWAY.

♪ ♪