Family was mourning at 15-year-old's funeral - then his 66-year-old grandpa started dancing to pop music

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of death and grief that some readers may find distressing. 

The last thing you’d expect at a funeral is for a loved one to break into dancing moments before bidding their final goodbye. In a setting of grief, gut-wrenching pain and sorrow, it is hard to even be present and standing to complete the last rites of a loved one who has passed away. However, 66-year-old Gino Gentilin was sure to display the best of his moves at his 15-year-old grandson’s funeral, per The Daily Guardian. A clip shared by the New York Post on Instagram captures the grandpa dancing with all the energy he possibly had in front of all loved ones and others present. The 15-year-old Kevin passed away tragically while riding his vintage bike to school when a car crashed into his bike.

“I got there a few minutes after the accident, he was lying on the ground and I sat down next to him. We stayed like that for at least half an hour. He was already dead and I remember that, while I was caressing him, I kept wondering why we couldn’t switch bodies,” the bereaved grandpa recalled. While they couldn’t do anything to bring the boy back to life, Gentilin ensured that he fared his grandson goodbye in the best way possible. Seeking permission from Kevin’s parents, the grandpa broke into an energetic dance before Kevin’s coffin. “The speaker started pumping out music, first the 883, then the Brothers and finally a remix by DJ Matrix,” the grandpa recalled. 

Explaining the reason behind this unusual tribute, Gentilin mentioned that he felt connected with his grandson through dance. The grandpa shared that he felt Kevin would have wanted to see him put out his best for his grandson. He spared no effort in busting moves in honor of his little boy. Towards the end of the tribute, he exclaimed, “I turned directly to him, I shouted, ‘Fly Kevin, now you are free! He and I were two kindred spirits. He came to visit me every evening, we talked about everything. Gentilin was deeply connected with Kevin and even after his passing, he ensured he remained bonded with him the same way through memories and in spirit. 

Remembering the time he used to dance with Kevin, Gentilin was happy to share all his docs moments with his grandson. “Every occasion was good for asking me to go with him and his friends to the disco. And under the DJ console, more than grandfather and grandson, we seemed like two accomplices who had a lot of fun dancing together,” he said. Dancing was like their most comfortable love language and the grandpa was sure to render it one last time at Kevin’s funeral. No one can truly put a mark on how heartbroken the grandpa must have been. However, he felt that dancing there for his grandson made him feel light. 

No matter how bizarre it may seem to a lay person, the gesture was his way of personally bonding with Kevin one last time. “In my case, it was that dance that saved me. When I finished dancing in front of my grandson’s coffin, I heard his voice in my head. He said to me: ‘Thank you, Grandpa.’ And suddenly I felt empty, as if a lot of that suffering that I carried inside me had come out.” Gentilin remarked that the dance “saved” him.