ESPN NFL reporter Jeff Dickerson died due to complications of colon cancer at the age of 44 on Tuesday, December 28. He covered the Chicago Bears for ESPN. He worked at EPN for 20 years. In recent years, he also co-hosted a weekend show on ESPN radio, Dickerson and Hood.
Incidentally, Dickerson's wife, Caitlin, also died in the same hospital from Melanoma two years ago. The couple has an 11-year-old son, Parker. ESPN deputy NFL editor HEther Burns said in a statement that Dickerson had an optimistic approach towards life. "We all got together in October for an event, and there he was lifting our spirits and assuring us he was going to beat cancer," Caitlin said.
Chicago Bears also released a statement on Jeff Dickerson's demise and noted that he was a true professional and a great person. "On behalf of the entire Bears organization, we extend our most heartfelt sympathies to Jeff's 11-year-old son Parker and all of his family and friends who mourn his loss," the statement added.
'I never once heard him pity himself'
Jeff Dickerson's friends and colleagues remembered him as a person who always held his head high with grace no matter what. In ESPN's obituary for Dickerson, ESPN 1000 host Tom Waddle noted that Dickerson always carried himself with dignity even in the most difficult of times. He also commended Dickerson's strength and grace that he showed at his wife Caitlin's side throughout her cancer struggle.
" I never heard him once, whether it was what Caitlin was going through, with what he has had to go through, I never once heard him pity himself," Waddle said.
'My heart breaks for his 11-year-old son'
Writer and podcaster Jacob Infante expressed his condolences and said it was very tragic for 11-year-old Parker to lose both his parents in a span of two years. Another Twitter user noted how Dickerson kept fighting when times were tough and kept a positive attitude every step of the way.
"Jeff Dickerson was a great friend, a loving husband, and the most devoted father to Parker. The world lost a wonderful man. I will miss him," Bears writer Kevin Fishbain tweeted.
