Dawson’s Creek alum Mary-Margaret Humes is remembering her TV son, James Van Der Beek, ahead of Father’s Day 2026, just five months after the actor’s tragic death.
“Wishing all of the amazing dads throughout this vast universe a Happy Father’s Day weekend,” Humes, 72, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, June 19, sharing a throwback Dawson’s poster with Van Der Beek and John Wesley Shipp. “My advice? Give big meaningful hugs and tell them you love them … a shout-out to simpler times with @vanderjames @johnwesleyshippjr.”
Sharing the upload to her Stories, Humes added “TV family” and “Forever friends” hashtags.
Humes and Shipp, 71, played the parents of Dawson (Van Der Beek) on Dawson’s Creek, which ran for six seasons from 1998 to 2003.
The Dawson’s cast lost one of their own in February when Van Der Beek died following a battle stage III colorectal cancer. He was 48.
“Rarely am I at a loss for words … today would be the exception. James, my gracious warrior, you fought a hard battle against all odds with such quiet strength and dignity,” Humes wrote via Instagram at the time, mourning Van Der Beek’s death. “I will always love and admire you for that. Our last conversations, merely a few days ago, are forever sitting softly in my heart for safe keeping.”
She continued, “To our extended Dawson’s Creek family of friends … please be respectful of our silences at the moment as Beautiful Kimberly and family have asked for peaceful privacy for now.”
James is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
“Yesterday was three months since we lost @vanderjames. To say I’m heartbroken is a severe understatement,” Kimberly, 44, wrote via Instagram last month. “Words just don’t capture what grief is. The comforts of shock have worn off. The reality is settling in … and I miss him. We all miss him. Yet, there is a different kind of magic in the air. I feel him. I know him more deeply.”
Kimberly further thanked her and James’ loved ones for their support after the difficult time.
“The outpouring of support has been tremendous. It’s held our family in the most beautiful of ways,” she said. “You all went absolutely above and beyond anything I could have ever expected in supporting us and honoring James. I am deeply grateful.”
Kimberly and her kids have also received support from James’ Dawson’s costars Humes, Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Busy Philipps.
“I think that the perspective shift once you lose one friend is huge, and [it] really sort of instills in you that every day is all you have,” Philipps, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month of grieving James’ death. “[You realize] you need to live your life with that understanding and move through the world in a way that reflects that you get that, so I do try to do that.”
