photo #9244683

Heartbreaking photos show a terminally ill father after asking his 11-year-old daughter to marry without a groom so he could walk her down the aisle. Jim Zetz, 62, from Murrieta, California, was diagnosed with stage-4 pancreatic cancer and given only a few months to live. Photographer Lindsey Villatoro, who had been documenting his final months with the family, had an idea for Josie's 11th birthday. "She mentioned she was so emotional about her dad not being there for memories down the line," Villatoro wrote. "So I figured we would make some now." In 72 hours she collected donations for Jim's suit, Josie's white gown, a wedding cake, catered food, and flowers. Twenty-three members of the community helped pull it together. Josie was picked up from school, told nothing, and taken home. With the Wedding March playing, Jim walked his daughter down the aisle toward the pastor. "Your dad may not get to see you get married, but he is here to walk you down the aisle today," the pastor said. He pronounced them "daddy and daughter." "It was not easy to do, let me tell you, but I wouldn't change it for the world," Jim said. "In twenty years, when she really gets married, she's going to be happy that happened." Jim passed away a few weeks later. Josie will have the video to play at her real wedding, as if he were physically there.