Amid a sea of lanterns at the Kingston Foreshore, the Pachi family were joined by a small army of T-shirt-clad supporters, rallying around dad and husband Joe, who has battled cancer twice since 2015.
The Joe's Bros made their third appearance at the annual Light the Night walk, organised by the Leukemia Foundation to raise money for blood cancer research, remember loved ones and show support for people affected by the disease.
Joe was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015 and went into remission after eight months of treatment. The cancer returned in 2017 but again, after gruelling treatment, Joe is in remission.
Joe's daughter, Josie Pachi, who in 2017 was struggling with how tough the second round of treatment was on her father, got in touch with Joe's friends and family about coming together for the walk.
"It just kind of grew. I didn't expect it to get as big as it did but we ended up with over 100 people the first year," Josie said.
Joe's wife of 29 years, Helen Pachi, suggested to Josie the idea of T-shirts and soon a whole matching contingent had come together to support Joe, who in that first walk had just come out of hospital and was still very weak.
"He was dancing and he was just having a ball, it was amazing. It just came at such a perfect time for us, I think, because he was so unwell.
"But he was out of hospital [and] he had all these old friends there and family. Yeah, it was amazing, really," Josie said.
On Friday night, about 60 Joe's Bros came to the walk, a display of support and love for the whole family not lost on Helen, who said everyone's journey was different.
"It's lovely to go there and be among other people who've been on a journey like us. Fortunately, our journey didn't end. Joe was fortunate enough that he has gone into remission and we're very lucky.
"We hope that he will stay in remission for a long time, but we don't know how long that will be. But so far, so good. It's been just over two years now," Helen said.
She said there was a "beautiful spirit of being together" when the extended family came together in support of Joe, many of whom had acted in lots of small ways to support him through his cancer journey.
Helen said there was a special connection at the walk with other people whose lives had been affected by cancer.
"You don't even need to speak, because you both know what it's like to go through a journey," she said.
Joe's Bros have raised more than $6000 for the Leukemia Foundation in three years and the Light the Night initiative has raised more than $400,000 in Australia.
Both Helen and Josie said the walk had become an annual highlight for Joe and his family, and the work of the Leukemia Foundation in raising money for research and support work was vitally important.
"This just gives everyone an opportunity to come together and support the cause and just remind Dad of that," Josie said.
