James Van Der Beek had plans to “rest and recover” just weeks before his death aged 48.
The Dawson’s Creek alum died on Wednesday, February 11, after a lengthy cancer battle, according to his wife Kimberley Van Der Beek, who shared a statement on Instagram that read, “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.”
Weeks earlier, on Thursday, January 15, Van Der Beek posted an Instagram Reel in which he explained that the new year should be celebrated in the spring. He chose to focus on healing this winter. This comes after Van Der Beek, who leaves behind six kids, emotionally described his cancer battle as the “best thing” to happen.
In one of his last posts, Van Der Beek asked his followers, “Anybody else out there finding that your New Year’s resolution was impossible to keep? I’m gonna say something. I don’t think it’s your fault. I think it makes total sense.”
“Why are we celebrating a New Year in the dead of winter?” he continued. “Why are we celebrating new beginnings at a time when nature rests? Animals are hibernating, and birds fly south for the winter.”
The Varsity Blues star added that “the time to celebrate a new beginning, and a new you, and a new resolution is in the spring,” posing the question, “Why are we fighting nature?”
“I’m gonna say screw it,” he concluded. “I’m gonna take the winter to recover, to rest, and I’m gonna make New Year’s resolutions in the spring.”
Van Der Beek captioned his video, “In the winter, the days are shorter and the nights are longer. But instead of being reminded how perfect this season is for cocooning, eating stew, snuggling and sleeping… why are we being told this is the time to buy a gym membership?”
The actor revealed in November 2024 that he was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer. A year later, he announced he was auctioning off some of his memorabilia from his past work, with “100 percent of the proceeds” going to him “to help with the financial cost of fighting cancer,” according to People.
During a December interview with Us Weekly, Van Der Beek gave an update on his health and cancer battle.
“I feel a little bit better every month,” he told the outlet. “It’s required more of me — more patience, more discipline. More strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong, I didn’t know I was this strong.”
Van Der Beek had to miss the September Dawson’s Creek reunion because of a stomach virus. However, he did appear in a pre-recorded video, looking gaunt.
He responded to concerns about his weight during an appearance on the Today show.
“I’d lost so much weight because of the stomach virus,” Van Der Beek explained on the December 19 episode. “No, it was not cancer-related. Although with cancer everything’s like, ‘Why don’t we super-size that stomach virus?'”
While reflecting on the moment he first received his diagnosis, Van Der Beek said he felt as though he was coming out of a “haze” from the anesthesia after his colonoscopy.
“I went into shock. But you know, one of the things I was really lucky about was as soon as I heard the news, I thought, ‘This is gonna be the best thing to ever happen to me.'”
He added, “I had this little voice in my head that said, ‘You’re gonna make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn’t have this extreme of a diagnosis, and it’s gonna add healthy, happy years to your life.'”
Van Der Beek shared that struggling through his cancer battle taught him some of his most valued life lessons.
“I don’t think I knew what it was to slow down before…to really look at everything I eat, everything I put in my body. Really, the biggest change I’d say would be this journey of self-love. What I realized was, I’m still worthy of love. My own love, God’s love,” he explained.
Kimberley’s full statement following the star’s death on Wednesday read, “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.
“There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
