“I love you so much, you’re the best man I’ve ever met,” Abbi Kerwin told her dad during the emotional ceremony
NEED TO KNOW
- A youth sports coach from southern California was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer
- On March 16, the local community organized an early graduation ceremony so he could give his 18-year-old daughter her diploma
- “I couldn’t be more proud as a father,” Bill Kerwin said
After a coach was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the local community organized a special ceremony so he could watch his 18-year-old daughter graduate from her high school in southern California.
“This was so meaningful for me, and it really showed me how emotional this journey has been for me,” Abbi Kerwin told CW affiliate KTLA after she received her high school diploma from her dad, Bill Kerwin, at an early graduation ceremony at a park in Huntington Beach on Monday, March 16.
She added, “I felt like I made a big step, knowing all my life after this that I got my diploma from my dad.”
Bill served as a youth sports coach at Huntington Beach Union High School District until he was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, KTLA and CBS affiliate KCAL reported.
The family and the school district did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Less than two months after his diagnosis, Bill was taken off all treatments, according to KTLA.
"We really got the news [in] the last 72 hours that it's not looking good, treatment has stopped," Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen told KCAL. "Everybody come together from the city, from the school board, neighbors, friends and family."
The event on Monday was attended by dozens, including the school district superintendent and the high school principal, who came out to support the Kerwin family.
"This is not our traditional ceremony,” Danny Morris, the principal of Huntington Beach High School, told the crowd. “But it is every bit as real, every bit as important, and in many ways, more meaningful.”
Abbi held her dad’s hand the whole time she was on the stage.
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“I love you so much, you’re the best man I’ve ever met,” Abbi told her dad during the ceremony, as captured in footage shared by KTLA. “I’m so proud to receive my diploma from you.”
One day, Abbi plans on becoming a nurse, and her dad couldn’t be more supportive.
“I couldn’t be more proud as a father. I couldn’t be more proud just as a man,” Bill told KTLA. “She’s driven, motivated, everything every parent could want.”
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