Rob Delaney Shares Father's Day Tribute To His Late 2-Year-Old Son
Rob Delaney posted a heartbreaking tribute to his son Henry who passed away at age two
As celebrities shared pictures and sentiments about Father’s Day, actor and comedian Rob Delaney posted a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram to his son Henry, who died at the age of two.
“Look at this beautiful boy,” the Catastrophe star wrote next to an adorable picture of himself and an infant Henry. “He died when he was 2. I’m still his dad & he’s still my son.” Henry passed away two years ago after suffering from brain cancer most of his short life.
Delaney told fans that Henry was initially diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly after his first birthday. He went through surgeries and treatments to remove the tumor but his cancer eventually returned. He passed away a few months later. “My wife and Henry’s older brothers and I are devastated of course. Henry was a joy. He was smart, funny, and mischievous and we had so many wonderful adventures together, particularly after he’d moved home following fifteen months living in hospitals,” he wrote of Henry’s passing. “His tumor and surgery left him with significant physical disabilities, but he quickly learned sign language and developed his own method of getting from A to B shuffling on his beautiful little bum. His drive to live and to love and to connect was profound.”
Father’s Day is particularly hard for those who have lost their father or father figure in their lives, but it’s also difficult for fathers who’ve lost their own children. Delaney’s post reminds us that even though someone isn’t physically present, that relationship between father and son is profound and that he will always be his dad and the dad of Henry’s four siblings.
Though best known for his work on Catastrophe, he opened up about a new comedy show for Amazon called Jackie. His humor is raunchy and when asked if he’s concerned about his kids seeing it, he said, “Watching an hour of my standup could never even dent the tonnage of hours that I’ve spent with them doing other [parental] things,” he told The Guardian. “They’ll still think of me as the guy who won’t let them drink a Coke at breakfast.”
Delaney has always been candid about his own struggles with depression and addiction on social media and it was written into Catastrophe. But he remains private about his personal life for the most part. “I ask that you respect my family’s privacy regarding this matter,” he wrote after Henry’s death. “I have nothing else to say that I haven’t said here. Thank you, beautiful Henry, for spending as much time with us as you did. We miss you so much.”
