Terminally Ill Hard Rocker Wed His Girlfriend Just Two Weeks Before His Death originally appeared on Parade.
David Roach, singer of the hard rock band Junkyard, died in his sleep on Aug. 2 after battling severe metastatic cancer. He was 59.
Just two weeks before his death, he said “I do” to his girlfriend, Jennifer Michael, 49.
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Michael told The New York Times that she’d been dreaming of marrying a rock star since she was 11 years old. Her original choice was Jon Bon Jovi. He was married by the time she came of age, but her dream stayed alive and began to become a reality in December 2022 when she received a Facebook message from Roach.
He was the singer of Junkyard, a hard rock band that was signed to Geffen Records like Guns N’ Roses and seemed primed for success. Although stardom never came for Junkyard, their relationship flourished.
“David had this witty, Gen X-type of sarcastic personality,” Michael told The Times. “Our personalities just clicked.”
“Jennifer was very nurturing, caring and loving, which is exactly what I needed at the time,” Roach told the outlet in an interview on Aug. 1, just hours before his death a day later. “My life was a shambles. She picked me up out of the gutter.”
Related: ’80s Rock Legend David Roach Dead at 59 After Health Battle
In October 2024, with their relationship blossoming, Roach had a swollen lymph node, which Michael urged him to get checked. He was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the head, neck and throat.
They talked about getting married, but those plans were derailed when his treatment demanded their full attention as Roach’s cancer spread to his lungs and liver.
Finally, on July 19, the pair wed in a ceremony at the Chihuly Sanctuary at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in Omaha. About 20 guests were there to witness the occasion.
“I just want to spend my remaining years — we both do — making up for things I missed out on the last few decades,” Roach told The Times. “I had a lot of unhappy relationships and turmoil.”
Despite Roach’s statement, Michael said he knew the end was near.
“He knew it was happening; our entire day was spent with love and togetherness,” she said via email to The Times on Monday. “I fed our dogs hours early so I could just be in bed with him, just laying quietly and calm and hold hands.”
Hours later, she awoke beside him in the morning. “I knew it had just happened,” she wrote. “I turned to him and held him, kissed him, hugged and just held him.”
Terminally Ill Hard Rocker Wed His Girlfriend Just Two Weeks Before His Death first appeared on Parade on Aug 5, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
