Dame Deborah James’s dad has recalled their conversation on the day she died, in an emotional new interview published on Father’s Day (18 June).
James was diagnosed with incurable stage four bowel cancer in 2016, when she was 35.
Using the moniker “bowel babe”, she campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness about the symptoms of the disease until her death on 28 June 2022.
Her BowelBabe fund has raised over £11.3m for Cancer Research UK at the time of writing, and James was awarded a damehood last May for her activism.
In an interview with The Sun, her father Alistair James explained how James was committed to living a full life until the very end.
“She was always full of energy, the driving force in our family. She was always coming up with fun ideas, ways to make memories together,” he said. “She would create outdoor cinemas in the garden, plan last-minute holidays, throw impromptu parties – it was never-ending.”
James was receiving palliative care at her parents’ home in Surrey in the weeks before her death.
“We all knew how desperate it was and we did have some desperately sad times. But we all made sure there were lots of good times, too,” Alistair told the outlet.
He also reflected on the day James died, with him and his wife Heather by her side.
“Heather suddenly called for me, telling me it was happening and I needed to come now. Saying goodbye was very hard, but it was peaceful,” the 67-year-old said. “Right towards the end, I told her, ‘You can let go now, you have done enough. You can sleep’. I’d never said anything like that before.”
Their Father’s Day celebrations usually involved watching sports together, Alistair said.
“I remember her taking me to The Ashes cricket four years ago. She loved every minute of it. We loved days out at Wimbledon together,” he continued. “It’s those things that I’ll really miss.”
Alistair also expressed his sadness for James’s husband Sebastian, and their children Hugo and Eloise, who will miss out on celebrating many milestones together.
James called Alistair “my unsung hero” in a moving post on Father’s Day last year – days before she died.
She shared a picture of him brushing her hair, with a caption that read: “My dad is my unsung hero, more so than ever. He’s quietly there behind the scenes, making sure I am OK.”
Earlier this year, an impactful documentary chronicling James’s campaign efforts was released on BBC Two.
BowelBabe in Her Own Words stitches together 100 hours of recordings – from James’s podcast You Me, and the Big C, her Instagram and TikTok videos, text messages, voice notes and old home videos – to tell the activist’s story.
