Jerry Remy's family issued a statement Monday thanking the Boston Red Sox and their fans for their support and compassion over the last 13 years as the team's iconic television broadcaster battled cancer.
The former Red Sox second baseman died of cancer on Saturday night. He was 68.
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Remy had a long and public struggle with lung cancer, and drew thunderous applause at Fenway Park earlier this month when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a playoff game while using an oxygen tube.
He was a former smoker who had a yearslong battle with lung cancer, including surgery for the disease in November 2008. His struggle with the illness was well known to baseball fans. Support from Red Sox fans helped him as he underwent years of treatments for the disease, he told reporters in 2018.
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“‘Thank you’ doesn’t adequately express the gratitude we feel for the fans. Over the last 13 years, we went through this ordeal with all of you rooting for us and offering words of hope. He heard you – we all heard you – and it was the love from all of you that helped him fight this battle for more than a decade," his family said Monday. "Cancer is a horrific disease, one that is all too prevalent these days. If you must endure something so grueling, there is no greater strength to help you through than that of Red Sox Nation. Dedicated and loyal until the end."
The family also thanked the team for their "kindness and compassion" during this difficult time.
"They treated us like family from the day we all first met until we lost him this weekend. We are eternally grateful."
They said Remy "lived and breathed Red Sox baseball," and playing for his hometown team was a dream come true. Having the opportunity to have a second career as the voice of the team "was all that he could have asked for," the family said.
Remy spent 10 seasons in the majors — the first three with the California Angels and the last seven with Boston — before retiring after the Red Sox released him in 1985. But it was as a Red Sox announcer, a job he began in 1988, that he captured the hearts of fans.
Remy's family also thanked the team of doctors, nurses and personnel at Massachusetts General Hospital who had helped treat him since 2008.
"Their treatment was nothing short of heroic and we are grateful for both their expertise and compassion," they said.
"To many of you he was 'Rem' or 'RemDawg.' To us he was Jerry, or Dad, or PupPup" Remy's family said in closing. "He loved his family endlessly and the loss we are feeling is unimaginable."
