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Professor Randy Pausch - Rest In Peace! (25 July 2008)
By Mike Krsticevic | July 25, 2008
It is with great saddness that I report the passing of Professor Randy Pausch today, 25 July 2008.
Mr Pausch was my inspiration in starting this blog. His “last lecture” enthrawled and inspired me, just as he inspired millions of others.
I look back at my first post on this site and remember the great passion, the great humour and the great wisdom that Professor Pausch shared with us. It never ceases to amaze me how one person can have such an enormous affect on so many lives.
For those of you who have watched the ‘Last Lecture’ on YouTube or read his book, I’m sure you’ll agree that we have lost an incredible human being today and his wife and children have lost so much more. Although I never met Professor Pausch, his impact on me and my life has been profound. So much so that I struggle to hold back a tear as I write this post.
If I were to write to Professor Pausch’s family to send my condolscences, this might be what I’d say:
“Dear Mrs Pausch,
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I hear today of the news of your husband’s passing.
I need not have to tell you what you already know about him … that he was one incredibly inspiring, funny and energetic human being whose impact on the world (including my little world) will reverberate forever. In fact, I know that my life has been redirected for the better due simply to the power of his wisdom shared in his now famous ‘last lecture’.
But I thank you also for sharing your life and challenges through what must be an incredibly painful time. The love that you and your husband shared, and the love you both have for your children, is so inspiring that just writing these words makes my throat simply choke with emotion. I have two wonderful children myself and an incredible wife and I can’t imagine the pain you must be feeling.
May I say this, however - your husband has had such a lasting impact not only on your lives but on so many millions of people. We will treasure the memory of your husband forever and I, for one, will always remember him most, not just for his ’last lecture’ or even his ‘time management’ work, the Alice Project or the many other incredidble achievements he gained, but rather for how he loved you and your children so much. That … is what has had the most lasting impression on me.
So I wish you and your children well. I’m sure that your husband’s memory will live with you forever. Know also that although his flame has gone out for now, his flame grows so much brighter in all the millions of people that he touched … including mine.
If there is anything that I can do to assist you and your family, please do not hesitate to ask.
With sympathy,
Mike Krsticevic”
Topics: Life Lessons, Motivation/Inspiration |
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