Wolfgang Van Halen Pays Emotional Tribute to Dad Eddie Van Halen on Anniversary of His Death

Wolfgang Van Halen is remembering dad Eddie Van Halen a year after the Van Halen frontman died at age 65 on Oct. 6, 2020 following a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Wolfgang, now 30, reflected on losing his father in an emotional tribute shared to Instagram Wednesday, admitting it’s “really f—ing hard” to carry on without him here.

“One year. You fought so hard for so long, but you were still taken away. It’s just so unfair,” Wolfgang began. “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.”

He concluded, “I’m trying to do my best here without you, but it’s really f-king hard. I hope you’re still proud. I love you with all of my heart, Pop. Watch over me.” Wolfgang’s moving tribute came just a day after he celebrated the anniversary of performing with Van Halen in front of a sold-out crowd at the Hollywood Bowl in 2015 – the last show he would ever play with his father.  “I’ll never forget it,” he wrote alongside a photo of the special day. 

Wolfgang has been channeling his emotions surrounding the loss of his father as any musician might — releasing the lead single of his record Mammoth WVH (titled “The Distance” and inspired by his father) — just several weeks after his dad’s death. 

Eddie’s widow, Janie Van Halen, who was married to the rocker since 2009, also paid tribute to the one-year anniversary of his death, writing on Instagram that she thinks about her late husband “every single day.” She continued, “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” Janie said she can find is knowing Eddie is with God and “truly free” now. “Until our souls find each other again, please keep an eye on me,” she wrote. “I love you and miss you so much.”