Family and friends gathered Sunday in Birmingham’s Railroad Park in honor of a 52-year-old father and grandfather who vanished two months ago today.

Donald Cash was last seen Sept. 26.

Human remains found in a makeshift grave in his son’s backyard are believed to be those of Cash, but the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office is still awaiting scientific confirmation.

“It’s been very hard,’’ said Cash’s daughter, Cyerria King. “It’s something that we never expected.”

Taranjia McGruder led the crowd in prayer.

“We thank you for a family that prays together,’’ McGruder said. “We ask you to comfort the family like never before.”

Cash, the owner of Cash and Son Transport, was last seen that Tuesday working on his truck at his home on Knoxville Street in Wylam. His truck was found one week later in Pratt City.

The case was immediately assigned to a detective with the Birmingham Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, and investigators said they were extremely concerned about his well-being.

At about 5 p.m. Nov. 6, investigators from the Crimes Against Persons Division and the Tactical Operations Division carried out a search warrant on a residence in the 1400 Block of Brighton Road, which is Tre Cash’s home.

While conducting the search warrant, investigators saw what they believed to be a fresh pile of compost/topsoil in the backyard of the home. The area was made to look like a garden.

A cadaver dog was brought to the scene and alerted on the fresh compost pile.

Investigators used shovels to remove dirt from the pile and discovered what appeared to be skeletal remains.

On Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and determined the skeletal remains were human. The coroner’s office took possession of the remains.

On Wednesday, Nov. 8, the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office notified homicide detectives that the examination of the remains revealed the victim had been shot, said Sgt. LaQuitta Wade.

His son, 30-year-old Ledarius “Tre” Cash, 30, is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $250,000 bond on charges of abuse of corpse and receiving stolen property.

According to charging documents, Tre Cash “did knowingly and willfully abuse the corpse believed to be Donald Cash by burning and/or dismembering and/or improperly burying.”

Cash was remembered Sunday for his love of many things, especially his family.

“He was a family man. He made sure his kids and grandkids were taken care of,’’ his daughter said. “He looked out for everybody. He was always smiling.”

Cash also love drag racing and his dogs. Family said he had a great sense of humor and always made sure everyone had enough to eat and drink.

“It’s going to be hard not having him around,’’ said Reginald Cummings.

Anntonietta Johnson was in a relationship with Cash for 26 years and they shared a son, who has since passed away.

“He was an awesome daddy. He was an awesome daddy. He was an awesome papa,’’ Johnson said.

“He always put his family first. He was a lovely person,’’ she said. “We’re truly, truly going to miss him.”

“We’ve had a lot of tragedy to go on in our family and God put everybody together for a reason. We don’t always know that reason,’’ McGruder said. “We’ve just got to stick together and look beyond anger and talk to anger when our problems arise.”

“Now he’s at rest. He’s looking down on us and knows we feel sorrow,” she said. “It’s not going to go away over night, but God is able.”