Bobby Vee Recalled As ‘Ambassador Of Joy’ At Funeral

Pop singer Bobby Vee was given a musical farewell at his funeral with an instrumental version of his No. 1 hit “Take Good Care of My Baby.”

Photo: Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times via AP

St. John’s Abbey church following a funeral service for Bobby Vee in Collegeville, Minn.

Vee was remembered as an “ambassador of joy” Wednesday as hundreds of mourners gathered at St. John’s Abbey Church in Collegeville. Vee was 73 when he died last week of advanced Alzheimer’s disease.

The St. Cloud Times reports that “Take Good Care of My Baby” filled the church as the Eucharist was prepared.

Born Robert Velline in Fargo, North Dakota, Vee was 15 when he filled in at a Moorhead concert after the 1959 plane crash that killed rock ‘n’ roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson.

Photo: Jeff Baenen/AP, file

Playing guitar at his family’s Rockhouse Productions in St. Joseph, Minn.

Vee retired from performing in 2011 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.