The death of widowhood

There were many tributes paid to the Jersey aid worker Simon Boas when he died of throat cancer in July, aged 47. In writing and speaking about his terminal diagnosis with courage and humour, he was admired on the island and beyond. My mother-in-law, having spent years working with aid charities, lives on Jersey and knew Simon well.

So I listened with interest earlier this month to an item about him on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. The host, Emma Barnett, had spoken to Simon days before he died. Now she was about to interview his widow. Or, as she referred to Aurelie Boas, ‘his wife’.

As editorial mistakes go, this may not seem especially grievous. It is certainly common. The Daily Telegraph fell into the same semantic trap with its headline: ‘The late Simon Boas garnered attention for his stoic, cheerful perspective on dying. His wife reflects on life without him.