Jimmy Buffett's wife Jane Slagsvol thanks fans, family, friends, caregivers

Jane Slagsvol, wife of the late singer-songwriter and laid-back lifestyle mogul Jimmy Buffett, thanked his fans over the weekend as she paid public tribute to her husband, who died Sept. 1 at age 76, five days after their 46th wedding anniversary.

“One thing we both knew and experienced, through every difficult moment” of the four years since he was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer, “was the feeling of being buoyed up by all the people in our lives,” Slagsvol, 72, wrote Saturday in a nearly 600-word missive on his website. “Everywhere we went, at arenas, at events, and even in the hospitals, we were surrounded by love. There is a whole world of people I want to thank for the incredible kindness you showed us.”

Calling the “Margaritaville” hitmaker’s fans “a big, boisterous family” and “the world’s most joyful community,” she told them, “The smile that Jimmy beamed at you from the stage was sparked by your spirit. I think that’s why he loved performing so much. He was so grateful to the community you built around him. Your sympathy and support inspire and comfort me and my family.”

She thanked his “teams of doctors, nurses, hospice workers, and caregivers” who “gave him hope, even at the most hopeless moments. … You were honest, brave, and empathic; you showed us such dignity and goodness.” She lauded her and her husband’s staff as “the best, most honorable, most generous people, and we know how fortunate we have been for all these years. You made our lives better in thousands of ways, big and small, each day.”

The couple’s friends, she wrote, “expanded the meaning and depth of friendship. Jimmy and I felt your breathtaking love and compassion throughout our lives …. Jimmy brightened telling you stories over long dinners as the cicadas sang. … You created a microclimate of affection that surrounded us like the sun. It gave us hope; it felt like a celebration even when things were grim. It’s a balm to me now. Without your friendship, we surely would have fallen.” And she thanked her family, which includes their daughters Savannah Jane, 44, and Sarah Delaney, 31, and son Cameron Marley, 29.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Buffett’s record company said the singer’s previously announced posthumous album “Equal Strain on All Parts” would drop Nov. 3. Three of its 14 songs — “Bubbles Up,” “Like My Dog” and “My Gummie Just Kicked In” — have already been released, with "Gummie" premiering July 9 during “Lunch on the Deck with Bill Evans & Jessica Ambrose” on Sag Harbor’s WLNG/92.1 FM.