On June 5, 2022, Broadway actor Quentin Oliver Lee took to Instagram to share a summary of his year so far. He explained that the year had been a “wide ride.” First, he listed some of the good things that had happened. He wrote, “I got a chance work with some incredible people at the TONY nominated ‘Caroline or Change’ musical, debut a sold-out Lortel Winner off-Broadway masterpiece, ‘Oratorio for Living Things,'” and then he mentioned the part of his year that hadn’t gone so well.
Lee explained that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer, and not just that, but stage 4 colon cancer, which means the cancer had spread to other organs and tissues in his body.
On December 1, 2022, Lee lost his battle with cancer. His wife, Angie Lee Graham, turned to Instagram to break the sad news, but she managed to write the sad news in an optimistic way. She explained, “Quentin passed in the wee hours of the morning. It was the most beautiful moment of my life.”
It may sound unusual to call watching your husband die a “beautiful moment,” but Graham went on to explain what she meant. She wrote, “I saw his last breaths, held his hand tight, and felt his heartbeat slowly drift away. He had a smile on his face, and was surrounded by those he loves. It was peaceful, and perfect.”
If you’re in a situation where you know your loved one has a disease that is going to take their life, the setting Graham described is probably the ideal scenario for the last few breathes, but that doesn’t mean that Graham isn’t grieving. She shared that she and her daughter, Samantha, “are supported and lifted by our families and our own faith.”
Lee was best known for his role as the Phantom on the United States Broadway tour of “The Phantom of the Opera.” He was only 34 years old.