All she wanted was to die at home. Chris Young and Justin Nunley made sure she did.
Mariah was 33 years old, from Albertville, Alabama, and had been battling stage 4 colon cancer since 2023. She had been receiving experimental treatments in California, but the treatments didn’t work, and she was recently placed on hospice care, thousands of miles from her family.
She was too sick to fly commercial. There was no way to get her home unless someone with a private plane stepped up.
Her friend Joslyn took to TikTok with a desperate plea. “I’ve been posting about Mariah for months. PLEASE I NEED A PLANE OR A JET. I NEED A PILOT THAT CAN FLY ASAP. THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH,” she wrote, tagging TikTok creator Justin Nunley in the caption.
The video pulled 249,000 likes and over 1,700 comments. But the only comment that mattered was from Nunley himself.
Justin Nunley Made One Phone Call, and Chris Young Didn’t Hesitate
Justin Danger Nunley has built a following of nearly 10 million on TikTok, known for his reaction videos and fun facts but also for using his platform to help strangers in need. Last December, Joslyn had reached out to Nunley for help paying for her young son’s tethered spinal cord surgery, and Nunley’s followers raised enough money to cover the cost.
So when Joslyn came back, this time for her dying friend, Nunley picked up the phone and called Chris Young.
Young’s response was immediate. “When do you need it?”
No hesitation. No committee meeting. No publicist weighing the optics. Just “when do you need it,” and a private jet was booked.
Mariah flew home to Albertville on June 23 with a full medical team on board. The pilot, Ryan from Soar, donated his time. Ryan does an annual 10-kilometer swim for cancer awareness, and Nunley announced that Mariah would be named an honorary swimmer.
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Mariah Made It Home and Passed Away One Day Later
Mariah passed away just one day after returning to Alabama. She was home, surrounded by the friends and family she had been separated from during months of treatment in California.
Nunley shared the heartbreaking update on TikTok, and the comments told the story better than any headline could.
“She held on until she made it home. She went the way she wanted to in peace.”
“What a blessing for her to be home when she passed.”
“Thank you for using your platform for good.”
Nunley pointed out one detail that hit fans the hardest. All Chris Young could think about was “getting her home.” Anyone who knows Chris Young’s catalog knows that one of his biggest hits is literally called “Gettin’ You Home.” He’s been singing about bringing people home for 15 years. This time, he actually did it.
Chris Young didn’t do a press conference. He didn’t post about it on his own social media. He just quietly arranged a plane for a woman he had never met because someone he trusted asked him to. And because of that, a 33-year-old woman from Albertville, Alabama, didn’t have to spend her last hours in a hospital bed 2,000 miles from the people who loved her.
She made it home. And that was all she ever asked for.
