Who Is Ray Illingworth Wife Shirley? Former England Cricket Captain Dies At 89 Dating

Ray Illingworth has been reunited with his wife Shirley after being separated when she died earlier this year. 

At the age of 14, he had met his wife Shirley in the school near his home. They had been together for decades before breast cancer took his wife early in March.

Ray’s beloved wife of 63 years suffered horribly in the final weeks of her life after breast cancer went undetected during the height of the pandemic.

After his wife suffered for the last 12 months before she died, Illingworth came out and advocated assisted dying.

In his words, he had said, “The way my wife was, there was no pleasure in life in the last 12 months, and I don’t see the point of living like that, to be honest.”

Who Is Ray Illingworth, Wife Shirley? Are They Together Again In Heaven?

Ray Illingworth followed his wife’s footsteps nine months after she left at 63. Her daughter said that her hands were outstretched above her as if she was reaching out for someone right before she died.

In early December, while he recounted the events that followed his wife’s death, he had said, “I know my time hasn’t come yet…I believe there might be some sort of life after death. I hope I’m right. I might meet up with the old girl again.”

He had wished to “be put to sleep” in his own home after watching his wife suffer during the last stage of breast cancer.

However, since it is illegal under the 1961 Suicide Act to assist someone else in taking their own life, it is unlikely his daughter helped him die in a manner which he would have liked.

If she had done so, she could receive a 14-year prison sentence.

Insights On Ray Illingworth Age Family And Net Worth

Ray Illingworth was 89 when he died on Christmas. He was born on June 8, 1932. He left behind an estimated net worth of around $4 million in 2021.

His father was in the cabinet-making business. Ray has two children with his wife Shirley, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Oliver, Luna, and Seb are three of his great-grandchildren from Diane’s side. Zoe and Amy are two of his grandchildren. Diane, one of his daughters, is married to Ashley Metcalfe, a former Yorkshire cricketer.

Ray Illingworth Death Cause

Ray Illingworth has died of oesophageal cancer. He was diagnosed in November of 2020 when his wife Shirley was still alive.

However, on November 29 in 2021, he told his fans that he was receiving radiotherapy.

Illingworth had told the Daily Telegraphy that the doctors were hoping that more double dosages would get rid of the final piece of the tumor.

He was waiting to see how the next two doses went. Though he had crossed his fingers and hoped for the best along with his fans, it seems everything didn’t go as planned.