A widow gave a moving speech after stepping into the shoes of her late husband at his sister's wedding.

Cassidy Myers, 28, lost her husband, Jared, 28, on March 7, after he died in his sleep due to an issue with his heart.

Jared had the heart condition hypertensive cardiovascular disease - which caused blood to stop flowing out of the organ.



Jared's sister, Morgan, 28, and her partner, Billy, 30, were due to marry on August 30 - and had asked Jared to be one of their groomsman and deliver a speech as brother of the bride.

But when Jared died just five months before the wedding, Morgan asked her sister-in-law, Cassidy, to fill his shoes.



There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Cassidy stood up on the big day and said: "Tonight I want to share the love and pride my husband would have spoken to had he been able to do this speech himself as intended."

Cassidy also played a video of Morgan and Jared when they were younger and videos of Morgan and Billy in front of the wedding guests and says her husband would be "so proud". "

Mum-of-one, Cassidy, a financial analyst, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, said: "I believe given the circumstances it was heartfelt and as positive as it could be. "

"For the situation we were in, you can feel the love in that room."

"I don't want to answer on his behalf, but I would like to think that he was proud of me."

Cassidy and Jared met at elementary school and lived just one mile apart in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, growing up.

They fell for each other and officially became a couple after their prom in May 2014.

The pair moved all over the US together and even did six months long distance - while Jared was in Florida studying in the police academy at Daytona State University.

Cassidy said: "We had been friends for a while, and I wasn't used to high school guys putting in effort."

"We went to prom together and from that moment everything changed."

In August 2018, the couple got engaged and they bought a house together in December the same year.

They tied the knot in October 2019 before welcoming their baby boy, Griffin, on April 10, 2023, at 18.10pm, weighing 7lbs 1oz.

The tot's middle name is Jared - after his late dad - who died less than a year after he was born.

Cassidy said: "It was the happiest year of our life. "

"We had our standard routines. It was such a simple life."

"I had a year of bliss - until March 2024."

Active Jared trained every day - lifting heavy weights and going on long runs and his family were shocked by his sudden death.

Cassidy said: "He had a disease which makes it hard to get blood out of your heart. "

"He didn't really have high blood pressure and would work out every day."

"When he was sleeping, he slept on his left arm which stopped the blood flow. "

"I woke up in the middle of the night of his body shutting down."

"I woke up and it happened shortly after 1am. I heard Jared trying to breathe and I woke up to him gasping for breath."

"I immediately called for 911 and I did 15 minutes of CPR. When I woke up and saw him, I knew it was bad."

Jared's passing affected so many in the local community that at his funeral, on March 10, there was a six-hour hearing - and many stood outside in the snow to pay their respects.

At Morgan's wedding – just five months on - Jared was due to deliver a speech so Morgan asked Cassidy to step in.

Cassidy said: "It has been such a difficult six months, but I felt his presence that day - on his sister's wedding."

"We did a butterfly release at the ceremony, and it landed on his sister - which was very emotional, and my mum swears she saw his face in the crowd."

"I believe, given the circumstances, it was heartfelt and as positive as it could be. "

"For the situation we were in, you could feel the love in that room."

"Even though we've been dealt the worst hand, I'm so grateful and blessed that I got to spend the best 10 years of my life with him."