Jeff Dickerson, a longtime ESPN reporter who made his name covering the Bears, had been undergoing treatment at a hospice center in Barrington after being diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year. Dickerson died Tuesday at age 44.
Almost three years ago, on Feb. 26, 2019, Dickerson’s wife, Caitlin, died of melanoma at age 36 after battling cancer for eight years.After Caitlin’s death he hosted a radio telethon to help raise money for cancer research. “Those who have listened to the radio station are in shock today,” Silverman, a cancer survivor, said on ESPN 1000. “And the reason is Jeff Dickerson is the strongest person I know. People say that and they throw that around about people all the time. I know firsthand.”[Most read in Sports] John Madden, Hall of Fame NFL coach and beloved broadcaster, dies at 85“JD took a great deal of pride in his coverage of the Bears for 20 years,” the statement said.
“You look for a moment of asking yourself ‘Why?’ or ‘How could this happen to such a great person, husband, friend, father, and mentor to many people?’ He’s one of the strongest people I know.” Bears players confided in Dickerson, Gould said, because they knew “he wasn’t going to railroad the message for his own personal gain.”
Christ, I've been listening to him for such a long time I thought he would do this until old and grey. Real sad. Rip.