Kimberly posted a photo of herself and James posing with Dane, Gayheart and their daughters, Billie and Georgia, at an event in 2017

 

Chrysalis Butterfly Ball Co-chair Rebecca Gayheart-Dane, Actor Eric Dane, Producer Kimberly Brook, Actor James Van Der Beek with Georgia Dane and Billie Beatrice Dane at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 3, 2017

(L-R) Rebecca Gayheart, Eric Dane, Billie Dane, Kimberlee Van Der Beek and James Van Der Beek,.Credit : Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

 

James Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, has shared a bittersweet message about Eric Dane’s death.

Kimberly shared the message on her Instagram Stories on Saturday, Feb. 21, in a post that included a throwback photo of herself and James posing with Eric, his ex and primary caretaker, Rebecca Gayheart, and their two daughters, Billie and Georgia.

Eric Dane, Billie Beatrice Dane, Rebecca Gayheart-Dane, James Van Der Beek, Kimberly Brook and Georgia Dane attend the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 03, 2017

From left: Rebecca Gayheart, Georgia Dane, Eric Dane, Billie Dane, Kimberly Van Der Beek and James Van Der Beek in L.A. in 2017.JB Lacroix/WireImage

“RIP @realericdane,” Kimberly, 43, wrote in text over the photo, adding, “We love you @rebeccagayheartdane. Will miss our guys laughing at Christmas parties together.”

Dane died on Thursday, Feb. 19, at the age of 53, 10 months after announcing he had been diagnosed with ALS.

His death came eight days after James’ death on Feb. 11. The Dawson’s Creek alum died at the age of 48 following a two and a half year journey with colorectal cancer.

The photo Kimberly shared was from the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles on June 3, 2017. The ball raises money for Chrysalia, a nonprofit that helps individuals struggling to find jobs and security. Rebecca, 54, is a long-time supporter and advocate of the organization.

The two couples were spotted posing for photos together at the same event three years earlier in 2014.

James Van Der Beek, Kimberly Brook, Rebecca Gayheart-Dane and Eric Dane arrive at the 13th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball at a private Mandeville Canyon estate on June 7, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

From left: James Van Der Beek, Kimberly Van Der Beek, Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in 2014.Amanda Edwards/WireImage

A number of other friends and loved ones have shared touching tributes for Eric in the days since his death.

Patrick Dempsey, who starred alongside Eric on the hit ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, spoke candidly about working with him during an appearance on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Friday, Feb. 20.

“I feel really so sad for his children,” Patrick, 60, said. “I was corresponding with him, we were texting, so I spoke to him about a week ago, and some friends of ours went in to see him, and he was really starting to lose his ability to speak.”

“He was the funniest man — he was such a joy to work with, and I want to just remember him in that spirit because any time he was on set, he brought so much fun to it,” he added.

“There was just this wonderful mutual respect,” he said of their connection.

Kate Walsh, who also starred in the series, shared her thoughts in an Instagram post on Friday, Feb. 20.

“I’m at a loss for words to try to express the sadness around Eric’s passing,” Kate, 58, wrote. “First and foremost I am thinking of his girls and Rebecca and holding them in my prayers and my heart.”

Walsh noted that she “loved” Dane’s “sensitivity and vulnerability (and intelligence, of course),” and reminisced about how the two actors supported each other in the early days of making the longtime ABC medical drama.

“As with most network tv shows, we spent more time with each other than with anyone else and so we became a family of sorts and Eric was such a source of support and love,” she wrote.