In memory of a devoted reader

Somewhere in the daily grind, it's easy to get lost in a sea of news, emails, text messages and tweets.  But I wanted to take a moment today to stop and reflect on one simple fact: Even though we may not always realize it, we are all a part of someone's life and they are part of ours.

This message became clear Tuesday afternoon when I received an email with the subject line, "Mom has passed."  I paused, long enough to learn that Elaine M., a dedicated reader of The Blaze, died of cancer yesterday at the age of 58.  Her son, Brian, shared this reflection on her life with people with whom she'd been in touch:

The family has a treasure of photographs reflecting Elaine’s travels, haircuts, and her many interests. From riding an Olympic bobsled, climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia, becoming a Search and Rescue K-9 trainer to perfecting her handgun skills at Front Sight Training Center, Elaine had a myriad of hobbies. Her first foreign trip was to Africa, independent at age 17. She returned to the continent in 2004 with her family to cheer on her daughter Lisa as she competed in an international horse competition. She continued to travel internationally to visit her son Brian in Australia when he studied abroad in 2010. McLaughlin Family Farms is a recent venture that will miss her hands-on involvement; she even named her cows out of habit.

Elaine’s passion for politics, The Constitution in particular, is well documented. Her death will result in a significant drop in website traffic and political emails across the United States. Accordingly, in lieu of flowers, Elaine asks for contributions in her name to be sent to www.freedomworksforamerica.org/contribute, https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org or to the Crystal Lake Food Pantry at 257 King Street, Crystal Lake, IL 60014.

The family would like to thank everyone for all of their cards, kind thoughts, beautiful prayers, unending support and unwavering love.

The Blaze was Elaine's homepage and she frequently emailed me with bits of information relating to politics she thought fellow readers would be interested in.

From her son's email, it's clear that Elaine led a rich life surrounded by the love of her family and friends and they are all in my prayers this week. I never personally knew Elaine, but I'm honored to have been small a part of her day.  She will be missed.