General Hospital’s Quartermaines: How The Show Said Goodbye to Alan, Edward and More Beloved Characters
The Quartermaines lost a treasured family member on the September 17 episode of General Hospital when Jason discovered that Monica had passed away. While we wait to see how the soap will pay tribute to the pillar of Port Charles — as well as her portrayer, Leslie Charleson — let’s take a look back at how GH scripted the deaths of other members of the Quartermaine family.
Alexandria
In 1989, Edward partnered with his vivacious niece Alexandria (played by Renee Anderson) to make synthetic diamonds, a storyline that introduced the nefarious Cassadine family to Port Charles and kicked off the soap’s iconic Ice Princess storyline. Alas, Alexandria met a frosty end in September 1981 when she and fiancé Tony were killed by his mad brother Mikkos, who froze them in his ice chamber on Cassadine Island for doubting his plan to take over the world.
Lila
The epitome of grace and class, Quartermaine matriarch Lila was often the peacemaker and voice of reason among her bickering family members. Following the death of her portrayer, Anna Lee, from pneumonia on May 14, 2004, the show penned a farewell for Lila that was as gentle as the character’s sweet soul: On July 14, 2004, Edward shared with his family that before she’d gone to bed the previous evening, Lila told him she loved him, then died peacefully in her sleep. Son Alan (Stuart Damon) was among those who spoke at her well-attended funeral.
Justus
As Sonny’s attorney, Justus (M’fundo Morrison, r.) agreed to attend a business meeting as a last-minute favor to his cousin, Jason. Unaware that the meeting was a set-up, Justus was shot and killed on June 19, 2006, by rival mobster Manny Ruiz in an ambush meant for Jason — leading grandpa Edward (then-Jed Allan) to blame one grandson for the other’s death.
Alan
Played by longtime cast member Stuart Damon, Alan had a heart attack during the hostage crisis at the Metro Court Hotel in February 2007, but by the time Mr. Craig (aka Jerry Jacks) allowed him to leave the hotel, it was too late. After sharing emotional good-byes with wife Monica and several family members — except for Jason, who was still dealing with the captors at the hotel — Alan passed away on February 26, moments before his son got to his bedside.
Emily
It seemed as if beleaguered heroine Emily Bowen Quartermaine (Natalia Livingston) was about to get her happily ever after when she accepted Nikolas’s (Tyler Christopher) marriage proposal during the Black & White Ball at Wyndemere on November 14, 2007. The gala was celebrating an endowment given to G.H. in honor of her late adoptive father, Alan — but before the evening was over, Nik was grieving his new fiancée after Emily was strangled to death by the Text Message Killer, who was ultimately revealed to be Diego Alcazar.
Edward
Just days after John Ingle’s final, poignant scenes in which widower Edward declined the antiserum for the water pathogen to save little Emma Scorpio-Drake’s life instead, the beloved fan favorite passed away in real life on September 16, 2012. Two months later, on November 12, the soap memorialized the actor and his character when the Q clan’s persnickety-yet-lovable patriarch died peacefully in his sleep, a sad fact discovered by his daughter, Tracy (Jane Elliot)… and was escorted into Heaven by the spirit of his darling late wife, Lila.
AJ
AJ (Sean Kanan, r.) confronted Ava for framing him as Connie Falconeri’s murderer when Sonny walked in on their argument and shot him. Although AJ survived surgery, he later succumbed to his injuries on April 1, 2014. As mom Monica and son Michael (then-Chad Duell) grieved, AJ’s sister Emily led him to Heaven, where Alan, Lila, and Edward were waiting for him.
Oscar
An inoperable, incurable brain tumor tragically cut short the life of Drew’s son, Oscar Nero-Quartermaine (Garren Stitt), who was just a teenager when he passed away as his girlfriend, Josslyn (Eden McCoy), slept in a chair by his side on May 1, 2019. After Oscar’s spirit said a final farewell to Josslyn, the ghosts of Lila and Edward escorted the great-grandson they’d never met earthside to the afterlife.
Jimmy Lee Holt
The black sheep of the Quartermaine family and Edward’s illegitimate son, Jimmy Lee Holt, had hardly been heard from since Steve Bond exited GH in 1986. That was, until his surprise son, newcomer Austin Gatlin-Holt (Roger Howarth,) revealed on July 16, 2021, that his dad had passed away from COPD that January — and tried to stake claim to the ELQ shares that Jimmy Lee had been denied.
Austin
Howarth’s swan song for his third GH character (following One Life to Live transplant Todd Manning, then Franco Baldwin) occurred on November 17, 2023, when Austin returned to his cabin in the woods. As he entered his living room, he was shot twice in the chest by an assailant unseen by the audience, but someone Austin seemed to have recognized. Nearly two years later, who killed Austin remains one of the show’s unsolved mysteries.
Monica
Following the death of longtime portrayer Charleson this past January, GH scripted a peaceful passing for Alan’s widow. On September 17, 2025, Jason went upstairs at the mansion to speak to his adoptive mother (specifically, to break the news of his twin Drew’s recent shooting) and discovered that she had died in her sleep after a long illness.
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