According to TMZ, legendary Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen was cremated on October 28, 22 days after his death. The ashes went to Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, 29.
One of Eddie’s last wishes was reportedly for the ashes to be scattered off the coast of Malibu, California, and Wolfgang is expected to honor the wishes of his father.
Eddie died at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with Wolfgang and Alex, Eddie’s brother and Van Halen‘s drummer.
The death certificate obtained by TMZ, which can be viewed here, reveals that the immediate cause of Eddie’s death was a stroke. He also suffered from other health problems, such as skin cancer on the head and neck.
After undergoing hip replacement surgery in 1999 due to a chronic joint problem, Eddie was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had to have part of his tongue surgically removed. Declared “cancer-free” in 2002, he later had to have “cancer cells scraped from his throat intermittently after they migrated there.” He later battled lung cancer and had been receiving radiotherapy in Germany. Things got worse in early 2019 when Eddie was in a motorcycle accident. He was later diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent gamma knife radiosurgery to treat the disease.
During an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” last month, Wolfgang spoke about the condition of his father during the last years of his life. He said, “At the end of 2017, [Eddie] was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. And the doctors said, ‘You have six weeks.’
Wolfgang confirmed the TMZ report that Eddie had sought alternative cancer treatments in Germany and attributed those visits to helping add years to the guitarist’s life. “Whatever they do there, it’s amazing because I have three more years with him,” Wolfgang said.
After Eddie’s motorcycle accident, “he discovered that he had a brain tumor,” Wolfgang said. From there, “shit just kept piling up and piling up. He just never stopped.”
After Eddie’s death, fans left flowers at his childhood home on Las Lunas Street in Pasadena, California. Additional flowers, candles, and fan souvenirs were placed on Allen Avenue, where Eddie and Alex carved their band’s name into the wet concrete of a sidewalk as teenagers.
Van Halen was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.