Jeff Dickerson passed away today after a battle with cancer. He was 44 years old.
Dickerson joined ESPN in 2001, filling multiple roles across his career with the network, the majority of which involved covering the NFC North and the Chicago Bears for various iterations of ESPN, ESPN Chicago, and ESPN Radio, both nationally and on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.
Dickerson is survived by a young son, his wife Caitlin having also died from cancer in 2019. Dickerson’s tribute to her then is really, really hard to read right now.
My beautiful wife Caitlin passed away today after fighting cancer for 7.5 years. Caitlin is an inspiration. She refused to let cancer dictate her life. Caitlin was the best wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend you could ever ask for. We love her dearly.
— Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) February 27, 2019
A simple Twitter search right now pulls up so, so many testimonials from people who knew and worked with JD.
https://twitter.com/ColemanESPN/status/1475952774991032327
2021 already took so many good people and now Jeff Dickerson? I’m just floored. Please say a prayer or have a thought for his son.
— Kevin Kaduk (@KevinKaduk) December 28, 2021
Absolutely terrible news that @DickersonESPN has passed away. One of the best #Bears reporters on the beat.
My heart breaks for his 11-year-old son, who lost both parents to cancer in the span of 2 years. Incredibly tragic situation.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) December 28, 2021
https://twitter.com/golic/status/1475956591677431811
Speaking personally, I always enjoyed his work on the Bears beat. He was a pro. Obviously his loss will have so many more important effects, and it’s just such a brutal thing to even imagine.
This tweet just about sums our position up:
Holy shit. That is one of the most unfair things I’ve ever heard. Ever.
— Lauren J in the BigXII (@thespinzone) December 28, 2021
Yeah. It really is.
RIP, JD. You’ll be missed.
(Updated to add this link to a GoFundMe page for Parker Dickerson.)
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.