What would I have done without you?
Shortly before his death, John Thaw writes to Sheila Hancock
The following letter was written on this day in 2001 and is excerpted from Sheila Hancock’s beautiful and moving book, The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw. Published in 2004 by Bloomsbury.
John Thaw and Sheila Hancock first met in 1969 while working together in the West End, two rising stars of British theatre. They married five years later and built a life together filled with professional triumphs—Thaw as the star of The Sweeney and Inspector Morse, Hancock with acclaimed roles in The Rag Trade, Sister Act, and Entertaining Mr Sloane, as well as becoming the first woman artistic director of the RSC. Sadly, in June 2001, Thaw was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer; by December, the prognosis was terminal. Shortly after the news, on their 28th wedding anniversary, Thaw wrote Hancock the following note. He died two months later, aged 60.
My darling Sheila,
What would I have done without you? You truly are the love of my life. I am so proud that you stuck with me when things were awful for you—so proud to be your husband, lover and friend and so proud to be the father of such wonderful and caring girls. I think it’s 28 years, but I pray there’ll be a few more so that I can make up for this dreadful year. If this year has taught me anything it’s that my love for you is so deep and profound that I don’t have the words to describe it. I must have done something right in my sixty years to be blessed with a great woman—for that’s what you are. I shed a tear this morning because I still can’t believe (I suppose) that you love me as you do but I know this—I love you every bit as much.
Your husband
John
So beautiful and touching! A letter to my wonderful wife of 58 years would be less poetic but just as serious.
Ah, would that we all realized such love in our lives. Happy holidays, Shaun.