Darrell Sheets reportedly had big plans before he tragically passed away.
As we’re sure you know, back in April, Storage Wars fans got the sad news that fan favorite “The Gambler” had sadly died by suicide. At the time, we heard he was dealing with some online bullies and just having a hard time in life. So sad.
Several of his Storage Wars co-stars have reacted to his passing and sent their condolences, and now Dan and Laura Dotson have more info on what they say was going on before his death. You’ll likely know Dan and Laura as the upbeat auctioneers from the A&E show.
They told Us Weekly in a new interview on Wednesday:
“Just before he passed away, I heard, he lost 40 pounds, and that he was wanting to get really healthy and in shape. [He] was preparing for his birthday party in May, and he had a huge big soiree planned.”
Darrell passed away just three weeks before his 68th birthday on April 22. He would’ve been celebrating his birthday on May 13.
Related: Darrell’s Autopsy Report Reveals New Details In His Death
This info is what made his death “just out of the blue,” according to Laura. So, so heartbreaking.
Darrell had a celebration of life on June 29 in Huntington Beach, and it went beautifully, according to Dan. He said “a lot of the cast members were there,” both “old and new,” to remember their lost friend. Laura said:
“People got up and they got to share their stories.”
She said they released 67 doves in honor of the age Darrell was when he died. How beautiful. Laura also mentioned how they had a donut bar to pay homage to the late star’s “favorite thing”:
“They did a wonderful slide show for him, showing him from a child to an adult and just celebrating his life.”
She continued, speaking of how the day went:
“A lot of people showed up in their tank tops, and they said, ‘You know, Darrell wore tank tops, so if you love Darrell, just dress comfortably like he always did.’ I even had my tank top on, but I had a blouse over the top. People were showing their tank tops and doing Darrell and yelling out ‘The wow factor’ and stuff like that.”
She also mentioned attendees passing around some books to leave messages in to remember Darrell by:
“There [were] a few of those books being passed around that people were filling up and taking photos of themselves and put them in there, which was fun. There was an entire area all the way down the entire ballroom of Darrell’s collectibles, things that he did, stories, fun things that people go, ‘Oh, I remember this on the show’.”
Laura added:
“Everybody would be hugging and praying and lifting Darrell up again, and then they would start laughing at something somebody would say. It was tears of joy and happiness, and [they were] talking about, ‘We know that Darrell is with God. We know he’s in heaven.’ Just the feeling that you know that they know that he’s there, so they can have peace.”
How lovely…
We continue to send our love to Darrell’s loved ones. May he rest in peace.
[Image via Darrell Sheets/Instagram]
