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'Love got me through': Richard Engel's wife brought toys and books for son Henry's body before cremation

NBC correspondent Richard Engel and his wife, Mary Forrest, lost six-year-old Henry to Rett Syndrome in August 2022
UPDATED FEB 24, 2023
Richard Engel's wife Mary spoke candidly about the agonizing final days she spent near her son Henry's body before he was cremated (RichardEngel/Twitter; Screenshot from People/YouTube)
Richard Engel's wife Mary spoke candidly about the agonizing final days she spent near her son Henry's body before he was cremated (RichardEngel/Twitter; Screenshot from People/YouTube)

HOUSTON, TEXAS: NBC's foreign correspondent Richard Engel's wife, Mary Forrest, the wife of Richard Engel, spoke candidly about the agonizing final days she spent with her son Henry's body before he was cremated. The six-year-old boy died in August 2022 after a long battle with Rett Syndrome, a genetic mutation that causes extreme cognitive deficits and physical impairment. There is no cure for the rare condition, which affects boys more than girls. 

Forrest wrote about Henry's death and her final moments with him in their home in an essay published in Today. "As long as he remained a physical presence on this Earth, I wanted to be with him," she wrote, adding, "We sat with him in our home for hours." The couple urged anyone who wished to support the Texas Children's Hospital's Rett Syndrome research by making a donation in Henry's honor.

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'He was almost like an appendage to me'

The mother-of-two, who also has a three-year-old son named Theo, remembered bringing Henry's body to the car when the funeral home staffers arrived later that evening take him away. "It was the last time I would ever carry my beautiful Henry. How many times had I carried him in his life? Hundreds? Thousands? He was almost like an appendage to me; we were physically intertwined due to his disability and him needing me to move him around, to be his legs," she wrote.

Her everyday routine changed with him after Henry died. In the week prior to his cremation, she visited his body at the funeral home and sat with him every day. She would "cry, stroke his hair and face and rest [her] head next to his." She played his favorite songs while bringing books and toys for him. 

'One last goodbye'

"That period of my life is a blur, but those hours with Henry’s body are vivid in my mind," she wrote, adding, "I would wake up feeling anxious to see him. Longing for him. Each time I went I would stay for about an hour, then leave the room and head to the front door of the funeral home before turning back for one last goodbye." She remembered a time when she and a few friends went to see Henry together, and despite their tears, they managed to laugh when something amusing was said.

As she puts it, Henry "liked watching" them because, "He always liked to be in the mix." Forrest and Engel had several sittings with their boy on the day of the cremation. The funeral director informed her "she'd know when it was time to say goodbye." She expressed gratitude for having that final week with Henry, stating, "It was surreal, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching... and also filled with love. There's just so much love, and that’s what has gotten me through."

'He’s with me'

The heartbroken family spread Henry's ashes near a tree in a park he loved. She remembered seeing the remains for months afterward. "I didn’t expect to see them for that long, and it was comforting. 'He’s here,' I thought. Six months later, I’ve now come to realize that he’s everywhere. Wherever I go and whatever I do, he’s with me," Forrest wrote.

Who is Mary Forrest?

Engel, a well-known journalist, and author rose to prominence as NBC News' chief foreign correspondent. He frequently spends time at home with his family when he is not reporting from the front lines. Forrest and Engel have been married since 2015. Forrest works in the television business, just like her husband, but she is a producer. Despite being in a well-known relationship, Forrest rarely speaks to the media, so little is known about her private life. She does, however, occasionally show up on her husband's social media accounts, including Instagram.

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