James Van Der Beek's Widow Posts Emotional Tribute Three Months After His Death

Kimberly Van Der Beek posted an emotional tribute to her late husband on Instagram three months after the actor's death from bowel cancer.

James Van Der Beek, the Dawson's Creek star known for playing aspiring filmmaker Dawson Leery from 1998 to 2003, died in February at age 48. On Tuesday, his widow wrote that the reality is settling in. She shared a carousel of family photographs and tagged him as @vanderjames.

"To say I'm heartbroken is a severe understatement. Words just don't capture what grief is. The comforts of shock have worn off. The reality is settling in... and I miss him," she said.

She added, "We all miss him. Yet, there is a different kind of magic in the air. I feel him. I know him more deeply. My conscious connection to God has deepened. The veils of the universe have thinned. And I trust that this is the path me and my family have always been intended to walk."

The couple had six children. In the months before his death, Van Der Beek said cancer treatments left his family cash-strapped. The costs were so high that Kimberly sought public donations to avoid losing their home.

He noted that he had received almost nothing for Dawson's Creek as a young actor, with no residual payments for reruns. Van Der Beek auctioned career memorabilia, including a tartan buttoned shirt from the show's first episode, a necklace given to Katie Holmes's character, and shoes from the 1999 film Varsity Blues.

"The outpouring of support has been tremendous," Kimberly wrote. "It's held our family in the most beautiful of ways. You all went absolutely above and beyond anything I could have ever expected in supporting us and honouring James. I am deeply grateful. There is so much more to share here. And in time - I will."

After his death in February, co-stars from Dawson's Creek led tributes. Katie Holmes, who played Joey Potter, posted a handwritten Instagram statement praising Van Der Beek's bravery, compassion, selflessness, strength and appreciation for life.