Country Singer Joey Feek Dead at 40

After a nearly two-year battle with cervical cancer, country music singer Joey Feek died Friday afternoon at age 40. Husband (and counterpart in their husband-and-wife singing duo Joey + Rory) Rory Feek wrote of the death in what Rolling Stone calls his "stark, vulnerable online diary," in a post titled "A Dream Come True." It reads in part:

• "At 2:30 this afternoon, as we were gathered around her, holding hands and praying.. my precious bride breathed her last. And a moment later took her first breath on the other side. ... When a person has been through as much pain and struggle as Joey’s been through, you just want it to be over. You want them to not have to hurt anymore, more that you want them to stay with you. And so, it makes the hard job of saying goodbye just a little easier."

Rory had on Monday written that death was coming: "My wife has been asleep for days now and her body is shutting down quickly. The hospice nurse came again this morning and said Joey will most-likely only be with us for a few more days… at the most." The couple wed in 2002. E! Online reports that Joey's cancer diagnosis came in June 2014, roughly four months after she gave birth to daughter Indiana. While the situation initially looked hopeful, things took a turn after the cancer made its way to her sigmoid colon. Rolling Stone gives a full rundown of Joey Feek's musical career here. (More obituary stories.)