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Dying dad shares final beer with sons in viral photo: 'That moment meant so much'

Norbert Schemm passed away from stage 4 colon cancer the next day.
/ Source: TODAY

Norbert Schemm’s dying wish was quite simple: He just wanted one last beer with his sons.

In a picture that has gone viral on Twitter, the 87-year-old from Appleton, Wisconsin, is seen smiling with a bottle of Bud Light in one hand. By Schemm’s bedside are his wife, Joanne, and their children, Bob, Tom and John.

“That moment meant so much to my grandfather,” Schemm's grandson Adam Schemm told TODAY Parents. “You can tell they all know what’s gonna happen, and they just want to enjoy being together. They all have this look of closure.”

Schemm, who had stage 4 colon cancer, died the next night.

“It was the last 90 minutes that they really had him,” Adam Schemm said. “They drank beer and talked about family and he made everyone promise to take care of my grandmother. They were married for 65 years."

The image struck a chord on Twitter and quickly racked up more than 30,000 retweets. Many people replied with similar photos.

“I totally understand that. Hardest beer I ever drank,” wrote one person.

“Did the same thing with my Dad in May," another wrote. "Cold beer and a Yankee game. My condolences.”

One woman responded with a snap of herself taking a shot of Baileys with her ailing grandmother.

Adam Schemm has found comfort in reading the comments and said his grandpa would get a kick of out of his viral fame.

“I was hesitant to make the picture public," he said. “But I’m so glad I did.”