Eddie Van Halen‘s son and widow have both posted touching tributes on social media to the legendary VAN HALEN guitarist on the first anniversary of his death.
Wolfgang Van Halen, who played with his father as a member of VAN HALEN, wrote: “One year.
“You fought so hard for so long, but you were still taken away. It’s just so unfair.
“I’m not ok. I don’t think I’ll ever be ok. There’s so much I wish I could show you. So many things I wish I could share with you. I wish I could laugh with you again. I wish I could hug you again. I miss you so much it hurts.
“I’m trying to do my best here without you, but it’s really fucking hard. I hope you’re still proud.
“I love you with all of my heart, Pop. Watch over me.”
Janie Van Halen (née Liszewski), a stuntwoman-turned-publicist who owns her own public relations agency High Profile Media, shared a photo of her with her late husband, hidden from the camera with only their feet visible, along with their dog, and she wrote: “I think about you every single day. Your smile, your laugh, your kindness – in every single way.
“I miss this, I miss us, I miss you, and I try my best to carry on the way you would want me to. But my Peep, some days, that’s really hard to do.
“This will never get easier because there really is no getting over you. The only solace that I can seem to find is knowing you are with god and truly free.
“Until our souls find each other again, please keep an eye on me.
“I love you and miss you so much.
“Love, Your PooPee and our Kody too”.
After Eddie was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, he began flying to Germany for treatments. Eventually, the cancer spread to Eddie‘s spine and brain. Just a few months later, Eddie died at age 65.
The 30-year-old Wolfgang speculated to The Washington Post that his father could have flown to Germany for more radiation had the coronavirus crisis not happened, possibly prolonging his life.
Last November, Wolfgang said that doctors told Eddie he had “six weeks” after he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. “And then he went to Germany,” Wolfgang told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show. “Whatever the fuck they do over there, it’s amazing, because I got three more years with him.”
Last December, Eddie‘s immediate cause of death was revealed to be a cerebrovascular event, such as a stroke. Pneumonia, the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome and lung cancer were also cited as underlying causes in his death certificate, which was obtained by TMZ. The certificate also listed a number of other “significant conditions” that contributed to Eddie‘s death, including squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer) of the head and neck, and atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes irregular heartbeat and elevates stroke risk.
In the Howard Stern interview, Wolf said the cause of his dad’s death had been “misattributed” by some media outlets as throat cancer. Eddie had previously battled tongue cancer in the early 2000s, which Eddie blamed on holding a metal pick in his mouth.
Wolf said it was “certainly feasible” that Eddie got tongue cancer from the pick but he shot down the suggestion that he died from throat cancer.
“People love to give him shit about that,” Wolfgang said, before adding, “He would hold that pick in the same spot all the time, and that’s the exact area that he got the squamous cell carcinoma in his tongue that he had to get cut out.
“When it’s reported, it’s always attributed to the throat cancer and then everybody instead of going ‘Oh shit. His cancer’s back,’ people are just going ‘What an idiot. He thinks he got throat cancer from a pick?’ And it just totally derails the whole thing,” he said.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.
VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
