On Wednesday, December 7th the world lost a bit of its light forever as Johannah Deakin passed away after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of leukemia. In a statement made by her loving husband, Dan, her bright light, passion for helping others, and love for her family was described in a way that summed up who Jay was with respect and gratitude.
Johannah was first and foremost a truly amazing mother to seven children – Louis, 24, Lottie, 18, Félicité, 16, and two sets of twins, Phoebe and Daisy, 12, and Ernest and Doris, two, – whose individual talents and success are testament to the principles and beliefs she instilled in them. She was also an incredibly proud grandmother to Freddie.
Incredibly selfless, she would always look to put other people before herself. She desired nothing more than for everyone around her to be happy and loving.
She worked tirelessly on numerous charity campaigns, creating memories for many individuals and their families.
It wasn’t uncommon for Johannah to hear through the media of an individual in need of assistance, and she would immediately make it her objective to get that person what they often desperately needed, and rarely without success.
These are the things that made Johannah happy and content in life, and all of which for me made her simply the perfect wife and best friend to face each day with.
I thoroughly loved walking through life with her, and though five years was far too short a time, during that time we had so many lifetimes worth of happiness, adventures, and memories.
We would like to send our sincere thanks to Professor Steve Mackinnon and his team at University College London Hospital where Johannah was hospitalized since May. And during the last few weeks Professor John Snowden and his colleagues at Royal Hallamshire Hospital Sheffield.’
If you’re a fan of One Direction, you knew of the way Jay lived her life; with a drive to make the world better for other people. That drive is what made Louis the man he is today, as well as what instilled the qualities and loving spirits so bright and true in his siblings as well. It’s been said in the media many times that Louis took his ‘bad media days’ to his mum and said ‘let’s make other people happy’. Jay also reminded Louis this year, in a comment on Instagram, that he deserved some sweet happiness himself.
The world didn’t know of Johannah’s suffering, and that comes as absolutely no surprise; she didn’t want to be the focus of attention as she stood with bravery against a disease she’d spent so much time helping others get through. She wanted to sit quietly and continue to help, continue to be a pillar of strength, and continue to watch her family love, grow, and live as the beautiful and courageous people they will be forever because of Jay.
Louis had been rumored to have a performance scheduled on the X-Factor Saturday night, said performance has been confirmed as a tribute to his mum. Louis and Steve Aoki will perform ‘Just Hold On’ – a song written in honor of Jay, and a preview has been released online that sums up the love and pride Louis has in his heart for Jay, the love and pride that grew as he watched her battle this year.
https://twitter.com/94alwayshes/status/807250974670655490
Felicite tweeted a simple broken heart emoji on Thursday, the day after Jay left behind the pain she felt on this earth and joined so many little ones who’s lives she touched in heaven. Louis and his siblings can find a small comfort in knowing that their mum is watching over them every single day now. She was their biggest fan here during her life and she’ll be their guardian angel forever.
As Louis and his family mourn their immense loss and try to make sense of a tragedy, his fans are already moving to make his new single number 1 in every country and posting memorial messages to Jay on social media as well as sending Louis and his family messages of love and strength.
Louis, Felicite, Lottie, Phoebe, Daisy, Ernest, Doris; you’re shining examples of what it means to raised in love and kindness and understanding. You were the luckiest of all to have Jay as your mum and a light to guide you through your life. There are people in this world who never feel a tenth of the love you felt every day and that love won’t fade because she’s gone; it’ll grow stronger in her physical absence because your hearts are eternally connected. She wasn’t just a shining example of a life lived beautifully for you, she was for all of us too.
She took her circumstance, that she never once complained about, and made sure everyone she loved was taken care of to the best of her ability with what she had. When her circumstance changed, she took that too and instead of relishing in wealth and fame; she took her platform as ‘Louis’ mum’ and donated to charity, made lives better, became a friend to sick children and their families. She loved the world fiercely and she loved you even more. There’s nothing that can be said to describe a woman like Jay, but you’re all living as pieces of her strength now and forever; so she’ll never truly be gone.
We were lucky enough to interact with Jay on a couple occasions and it was always in thanks and gratitude for just being nice to her son. That sentiment seems heartbreaking now, but it was just another show of how she wanted kindness for this world, and she wanted it for her children more than anything.
So while the light of the world is a bit darker today, our hearts are with Jay’s family and with anyone else who needs a little bit of extra love and kindness. Louis, you’re stronger than you know for more reasons than you’d ever give yourself the credit; you got that from Jay, it’ll always be with you.