James Van Der Beek mourns the loss of his mother Melinda as he announces her passing at age 70 with touching tribute: ‘I’m still in shock’
James Van Der Beek is mourning the loss of his mother Melinda Van Der Beek following her passing at age 70.
The actor, 43, broke the heartbreaking news on his Instagram account, where he paid a touching tribute to the woman who always believed in him.
‘Melinda Van Der Beek 1950-2020,’ James wrote with a purple heart and crucifix emoji. ‘My mom crossed over last week. Even though we knew this was coming – and had actually thought we were at the end nearly a year and a half ago – I’m still in shock.
James Van Der Beek is mourning the loss of his mother Melinda following her passing at age 70
James described his mother as a positive influence on her gymnastics students and his own children.
‘I’m grateful she’s no longer in pain, I’m sad, I’m angry, I’m relieved… all at once and in different moments. Just trying to hold space and allow for it all. To thousands of kids, she was “Miss Melinda”, a gymnastics teacher with a big heart, a creative spirit and a mantra: “There’s no such word as can’t!”
‘To my kids, she was Grammy M… a magical grandma with a big laugh and a basement full of costumes and Christmas lights. And to me… she was my mom. She gave me life.
‘She taught me how to tumble. Drove me to my first auditions. She believed in me based on nothing but her own intuition and she passed on a craziness that has been crucial to not just my success, but my own personal happiness.’
The actor, 43, broke the heartbreaking news on his Instagram account, where he paid a touching tribute to the woman who always believed in him
‘A magical grandma’: James described his mother as a positive influence on her gymnastics students and his own children
‘Drove me to my first auditions’: Van Der Beek explained how supportive his mother had been throughout his life
Despite the painful loss, James seemed to take comfort knowing his children and her students would have Melinda’s support from ‘the other side.’
‘I don’t know what the grieving/healing process looks or feels like from here on out… all I know is anytime my kids – or any of her students – want to dress up, or get on a stage, or dance, or even just think of her… they’ll have a little extra love from the other side backing them up.’
The loss comes amid a difficult year for James and his family, who have already suffered two miscarriages this past year.
James’ wife Kimberly suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage at 17 weeks last month, less than a year after enduring a miscarriage in November 2019.
Aww: Among the photos in James’ slideshow was an image of Melinda with his father James at DWTS
Adoring grandmother: Melinda was ‘a magical grandma with a big laugh and a basement full of costumes and Christmas lights’