When one of Queer Eye’s “heroes” dies, the entire cast mourns. Friday night at 11:49 p.m., Tom Jackson passed away “after losing his battle with metastatic adenocarcinoma,” as his obituary put it. He was 63.
The Cancer Treatment Centers of America defines metastatic adenocarcinoma as the spread of adenocarcinoma cancer cells from their original site to other organs or tissues. It’s also called adenocarcinoma in stage 4.
Jackson worked as a dump-truck driver in Georgia after retiring from Federal Express. It was noted in his obituary that “being a Papaw to his two grandsons who were his pride and joy” was one of his proudest moments. It continued –
“A highlight of Tom’s life was being cast on the Netflix show, ‘Queer Eye’. He enjoyed the notoriety and shared his experience with whoever would listen!”
Tom is survived by his daughter, who also appeared on the Netflix series, as well as his two grandsons, two sisters, and other relatives.
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Jackson’s family expressed their gratitude to the medical staff at Kennestone Hospital for providing “treatment and comfort during his final days.”
The family wrote in his obituary –
“We will never forget our beloved Tom. He brought joy, humor, persistence, and love to our family. He is special to us, and we look forward to seeing him again one day.”
A memorial service for him will be held on March 12 in Kennesaw, Georgia. Instead of sending flowers, his family has requested that people watch his episode of Queer Eye.
In February 2018, Jackson was featured in the pilot episode of the reboot. He became a fan favorite when he famously said, “You can’t fix ugly,” in response to the Fab Five’s (Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, and Bobby Berk) efforts to boost his self-esteem during his love quest.
On Instagram, the reality show’s official account and some of the cast mourned Jackson’s death by posting photos of his memorable cameo. The caption read –
“It’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a member of our Queer Eye family. Rest in peace, Tom Jackson.”
France in the comments section wrote –
“Such incredibly sad news.”
Van Ness added –
“RIP Tom ❤️.”
Jackson told Porowski during filming that he still had feelings for his ex-wife Abby. Jackson’s announcement of his and Abby’s second wedding came two months after the premiere of the show. He announced the divorce on Twitter in September of 2019.
