This one is just too awful for words. đ„
From The Washington Post: (H/T Memeorandum)
A day after a White House staffer died in a cycling accident while raising money for cancer, his wife released a heart-felt tribute to her husband on Instagram that recalled his optimism and selflessness.
âI donât have to tell most of you how wonderful he was,â Mary Katharine Ham wrote about her late husband, Jake Thomas Brewer, 34. âIt was self-evident. His life was his testimony, and it was powerful and tender and fierce, with an ever-present twinkle in the eye. I will miss him forever, even more than I can know right now.â
Brewer is listed on the White House Web site as a senior policy adviser in the the Office of the Chief Technology Officer. He was killed Saturday when his bicycle went out of control at a sharp curve on Old Frederick Road in Maryland. It crossed the double yellow line and collided with an oncoming vehicle, police said. Brewer was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the 2008 Honda Pilot was not injured, police said.
At the time, Brewer was participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a two-day cycling event aimed at raising money for cancer-treatment programs.
Brewerâs mother told The Washington Post he was in the fundraising ride because of a close friend who was a cancer patient. He âlived life large and tended to live life for other people,â Lori Brewer Collins said.
Collins said the ride will continue. Her son was a man who could âmake things happen,â she noted, and that was what âhe would have wanted.â
On Sunday, news of Brewerâs death spread across Twitter and Facebook, where a wide circle of professional contacts and friends expressed their shock and shared memories of their friend and colleague.
He was referred to as the âepitome of a public servant.â
Ed Morrissey Writes:
Update: The family and friends of Jake Brewer, Mary Katharineâs husband, have launched a GoFundMe project to create an educational fund for their two children, Georgia and the one on the way.
Those of us who love Jake want to help ensure that Mary Katharine and the family have everything they need â now and (especially) in the future.  Please contribute to help provide for their childrensâ education as they grow up. These funds may also be used to advance ideas about which Jake was passionate.  Finally, Mary Katharine has asked that people consider donating to a cause very close to their hearts: The Travis Manion Foundation, which supports families of fallen US servicemen, at  www.TravisManion.org.
The goal of the education fund is $200,000, probably a bare minimum for college education for two students 16-18 years from now. Letâs push this higher than that. Mary Katharine faces some very difficult challenges for her children and herself without Jake, but we can help take worries over education off the table for her.
There are no words that I can even begin the write. God Bless Mary Katherine and her sweet babies. May the Lord Jesus Christ keep them in his mighty hand. đ
Others: Washington Post, The Other McCain, BuzzFeed,TVNewser, Fox News, neo-neocon, Patterico’s Pontifications, Mediaite,RedState, Raw Story, Mashable, Moe Lane
Others 2:
- Instapundit » Blog Archive » JAKE BREWER, RIP: âIt is with great shock and sadness that we offer our condolences and prayers to tâŠ
- Jake Brewer, RIP « Bob Owens
- Jake Brewer, RIP | Transterrestrial Musings
- Obama Pays Tribute To White House Staffer Killed During Charity Bike Ride – Buzz And Gossip
- Obama Pays Tribute To White House Staffer Killed During Charity Bike RideUpdates News | Updates News
- Our hearts are broken: Mary Katharine Ham remembers her husband, Jake Brewer | Twitchy