Wisconsin man shares final beer with sons hours before his death from cancer

Norbert P. Schemm died Nov. 20 of cancer. The longtime Appleton resident was 87

Adam Schemm tweeted a photograph taken at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton the night before his grandfather died.

"Last night all he wanted to do was to have one last beer with his sons," the younger Schemm tweeted.

The photograph shows Norbert Schemm smiling and holding a bottle of Bud Light, surrounded by his sons, John, Robert and Thomas, who are also preparing to hoist beers. Norbert Schemm's wife of 65 years, Joanne, is holding her husband's hand.

The touching moment went viral on Twitter, with nearly 322,000 likes and 31,00 retweets, WITI reported.

Several comments echoing similar final toasts were posted in response to Adam Schemm's tweet.

According to his obituary, Norbert Schemm was a lifelong resident of Appleton and served in the Coast Guard from 1953 to 1956. He married Joanne Raleigh on May 1, 1954, in Appleton, and the couple raised a daughter in addition to three sons.

"Our dad was hardworking, strong, loving, kind, and gentle," Norbert Schemm's obituary said. "He loved his family very much. He was not a man of great wealth, and yet he was a very, very rich man."