Susan Saint James’ Family Reveals Private Cancer Battle Following Her Tragic Passing

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Susan Saint James

Susan Saint James, a beloved actress best known for her roles on McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie, passed away on October 26 at the age of 80, and her family has released new details about her death.

In a statement to PEOPLE, her family confirmed that she died after a private battle with pancreatic cancer.

She is remembered as someone who was “generous with her time and energy, which she valued more than money, and instinctively drawn to whoever needed lifting up. She taught her children to pause, be kind, and look out for other people.” Saint James also dealt with a heartbreaking loss before her passing, as her son Teddy died in a November 28, 2004 plane crash, and she “delivered his eulogy as a note to each of her other children and her husband, giving them words to heal. Even in the deepest grief of her life, she put everyone else first.”

“She brought that same fire and positivity to everything that followed, and never lost it,” the statement concluded. “She is survived by her husband, Dick Ebersol, her four children–Sunshine Lucas, Harmony Lucas, Charlie Ebersol and Willie Ebersol–her seven grandchildren; her sister, Mary Mercedes Dewey, as well as her beloved service dog, Lola.”

Tributes Pour In For Susan Saint James

“RIP Susan,You were Superb as Kooky,Funny Sally MacMillan and the show didn’t survive after you left,you are a wonderful actress and will be missed😰💔,” one person commented.

“Loved this woman. The world lost another great,” another person posted.

“Oh I loved her in those television roles. Such a joy to watch. Sending our deepest condolences to her family. 🤍,’ a fan wrote.

“ate & Allie made her a legend, but she was also Cindy Sondheim, the woman George Hamilton’s Dracula left Transylvania for in Love at First Bite. Rest easy, Susan 🖤,” another fan expressed.

“Such a lovely soul. Reunited in the heavens above with her precious son. God’s peace be with her grieving family. 🙏🏻,” one fan stated.

Susan Saint James Took A Step Back From Acting At The End of the 80s

While she went on to make a few appearances, Saint James largely took a step back from Hollywood at the end of the 1980s for one very specific reason.

“The biggest part of my retirement from films and television is because my kids are at that age now where they need to be the stars of our family,” she told the Baltimore Sun in 1993. “They don’t need a mother who, when she walks in a room, they get shoved out of the way. I’ve had a much more pleasant life since that star has faded.”

Her smaller roles in the years that followed were on The Drew Carey Show, on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as on Suits in 2011. Saint James was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008. At the height of her acting career, she received eight Emmy nominations, winning one award as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Name of the Game.