It’s been a month since singer Joey Feek, 40, of country duo Joey + Rory passed away from cervical cancer, and fellow country musicians honored her with a standing ovation at the the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony.  Before handing out the award for Best Vocal Group, Martina McBride and Darius Rucker praised Joey under a  large photo of the singer. McBride stated,

Joey was more than a wonderful singer and an ACM-winning artist along with her husband Rory. She was a beloved mom, daughter, family member and friend.

Rucker continued the tribute,

Of all the different ways we could honor Joey, we think that what would mean the most to Joey and her family is just one more time, for all of us, her fans who loved her, to give her a big round of applause.

It was then that the large audience at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas stood for Joey and gave her a loving ovation.

Joey’s husband Rory, 50, was not present at the award show, but one of her stepdaughters, Hopie, was there with her friend, Julie. Joey and Rory also have daughter, Indiana, and stepdaughter, Heidi, who were also not in the audience.

Rory has been very open about his wife’s battle with cancer and recently made a post on his personal blog This Life I Live describing how difficult it has been learning to live without his wife at his side:

I miss my wife… I miss my best friend.  I miss her voice and her laugh and her eyes and her smile.  It’s still hard for me to imagine that she’s not here, and she’s not ever coming back.  But I know that time will make it easier.  Because that’s what time does.  It heals what is broken.   There will still be scars, but I know there will come a day when I won’t miss her this much, when I won’t wonder where she is… and what she is doing right now in heaven.

Joey died March 4 at 2:30 pm surrounded by her loved ones.