As a YouTube sensation with more than 1.7million subscribers, it was only fitting that Caleb Bratayley's memorial service was streamed online for his fans to celebrate his life. A video of the 52-minute ceremony was uploaded on Facebook and in the first ten hours it gained more than 245,000 views.
Caleb was 13 when he died suddenly last week. His family announced the star's death on Instagram, writing that Caleb passed away of natural causes.
Some 50,000 fans across the world joined the Bratayley family as the memorial service was streamed on Facebook and Periscope.
Caleb's Memorial Service (if this stream expires we will immediately start a new one)
Posted by Bratayley on Tuesday, 6 October 2015
A memorial service for Caleb Bratayley was held on Tuesday
During the ceremony friends and family members gathered in one room, where several photos of Caleb were hung up on easels, and candles flickered in the background. A video montage featuring clips from Caleb's life was also shown, with some scenes filmed just four days before his death.
A representative spoke on behalf of the family before the video was played, saying: "Grief can feel lonely, but the outpouring of support and love from all of you has been a beautiful reminder that the Bratayley family is far greater than just the people in this room.
"Our community is strong; we are all in this together. And we will all get through this together. It's okay to feel sad and we encourage you all to share your feelings with each other and with your loved ones."
"A lot of you are asking if it's true. And it is. Caleb is gone," a voice in the video is heard saying
The video celebrating Caleb's life showed the baseball fan showing off his trophies and a signed baseball at a young age. "This is my first home-run I ever got, and all my trophies," Caleb is heard saying. "This is the biggest one I ever got."
To mark their first 50 subscribers online, Caleb was pied in the face from one of his younger sisters. "And now for the moment we've all been waiting for," she's heard saying, before dunking Caleb's face in the dish.
Caleb was 13 when he died of natural causes suddenly last week
At the end of the video several Instagram tributes from his fans around the world were shown, and a young girl's voice is heard speaking: "A lot of you are asking if it's true. And it is. Caleb is gone. Caleb will always be with us."
After the video was shown, the congregation heard from friends and other relatives as they shared stories about Caleb's passions which included sushi and history. The popular vlogger left behind his parents Katie and Billy and his two younger sisters Annie, ten, and Hayley, seven.
