Teen Dies from Cancer Months After Ford CEO Gifted Him 'Experience of a Lifetime' on Racetrack, Dad Reveals
A teenager who got the "experience of a lifetime" with his dad thanks to the CEO of Ford Motors earlier this year has died from cancer.
On Friday, Nov. 22, Joe Tegerdine revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that his teenage son Joseph was "no longer suffering" after taking his final breath that morning.
In a tribute post on the platform, Joe reflected on the "privilege [of] being his father" and thanked those who offered their support over the years.
"Words cannot express the depth of grief that he has moved on, nor the tremendous joy that he is no longer suffering," Joe wrote. "I look forward to the day that he and I will be able to run and jump and play together again. I appreciate all of the love and support we received from the 𝕏 community."
"Your generosity made his life a little easier and more fun. Your love and concern made a huge difference," he added.
Among those who made a difference in Joseph's life, his father wrote, was Ford CEO Jim Farley, who gave the teen an "experience of a lifetime" when he invited him to experience a Ford Mustang Dark Horse on the track at the Ford Performance Racing School in Charlotte, N.C., back in March. The pair, who traveled from Utah, took him up on the offer in April.
father announced the death of his son due to cancer, months after the teen got to experience a Ford racing trip (thanks to the CEO of Ford
Joe and Joseph Tegerdine. Joe Tegerdine/X
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The initial invitation came over X, and a month later, Joe and Joseph were together in North Carolina for a father-son experience that left the dad "speechless," he wrote on the social media website at the time, also sharing a few images from the once-in-a-lifetime trip.
According to Fox News, Joseph was diagnosed with osteosarcoma bone cancer in May 2019 and had been suffering from knee pain since he was 13. Cancer was then also found in his lungs and his hip in 2022, and in his lungs again in 2024.
Speaking with the outlet earlier this year, Joe revealed that the Ford moment was "probably our last time doing something like this."
"He [Joseph] was like, ‘Dad, I don’t care if you have to roll me in on a gurney, I’m going to this driving school,' " Joe recalled at the time. "He had the most energy I’ve seen in months, just a super big smile and super excited."
father announced the death of his son due to cancer, months after the teen got to experience a Ford racing trip (thanks to the CEO of Ford
Joseph Tegerdine. Joe Tegerdine/X
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The father-son day also came complete with custom helmets from Ford, as the CEO told Fox News that he was "simply happy [that] we could provide this experience to Joe and Joseph."
"Normally, you'd have conversations about, 'When you’re an engineer,' or 'You could come back and do the two- or three-day course,' " Joe told the Detroit Free Press after the Ford trip. "But then you realize this is probably it. So you’re very much in the now. And embracing that moment together because there’s a recognition of the finality of it. You know there’s not going to be probably a next time. So we just try to enjoy those moments together."
The Ford trip followed Joe's decision to share in a since-viral post on X that he bought his son a Mustang of his own, since he couldn't "work long enough to buy one himself."
As the boy's mother Kerry told Fox News, the family was focused on "making memories and doing bucket list items for him."
This week, Joe shared on Instagram that he learned "so much" from his son, and hoped he could "be half the man he was." A celebration of life for the teen is set for Springville, Utah, on Dec. 6.
"I didn’t realize when I became a father that it had the potential of being the greatest source of joy and the greatest source of pain in my life. Gratefully, the joy far outweighs the pain," the father wrote on X on Saturday, Nov. 23. "Each one of my kids has enriched my life in so many ways. I’ve loved introducing them to my hobbies and interests and having them along for the ride. Joseph may no longer be physically with us, but I know he’ll be ever present in our lives."
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