Rebecca Gayheart’s recent birthday tributes for daughter Billie carried extra emotional weight because they came just days after the family said goodbye to Eric Dane. Reports this week said Dane was cremated and laid to rest in a private service in Westwood, California, on February 27, with family and close friends gathered away from the public eye. His death certificate reportedly lists respiratory failure as the immediate cause of death, with ALS as an underlying cause. People also reported that before his death, Dane recorded a final interview for Netflix’s Famous Last Words largely so his daughters would have “an experience of him” they might not otherwise get, according to producer Brad Falchuk. In that interview, he spoke openly about how painful it was to think he might miss major milestones in his daughters’ lives.

At the same time, Dane’s TV legacy was honored publicly. Grey’s Anatomy paid tribute to him in its February 26 episode with a montage of Mark Sloan moments, ending with a memorial title card after a sequence set to “Chasing Cars.” Gayheart’s social posts for Billie’s 16th birthday, shared just days later, felt especially poignant in that context: they celebrated a milestone while also reflecting the family’s grief and closeness. The broader picture that has emerged is of a family trying to hold onto love and routine in the middle of a devastating loss. That same message came through in coverage of Dane’s final days, which said he died on February 19 at age 53 after a battle with ALS and was surrounded by loved ones, including Gayheart and their daughters.