Dr. Randy Pausch, 47.

Dr. Randy Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2006.  He was told that he has a few months to live.  While that is the story of the thousands of patients with cancer, the unique thing about Dr. Pausch was that he inspired millions of people to live with purpose and meaning.  A month after his diagnosis, he gave a traditional "last lecture" to colleagues and students in Carnegie Mellon University.  This video has been seen by millions through the wonders of the internet.  He gave a brief version of this lecture on Oprah and it has also been published as a book.  

I've been reading about Dr. Pausch's progress in his blog and I am saddened to know that he has finally passed on, on 25 July 2008, after battling with the cancer for almost 2 years.  In a sense though, it is a good thing that he's died after suffering through so many cycles of chemotherapy.  He was also fortunate in that while he was initially given only a few months left to live, he lasted 2 more years. He got to spend more time with his family and saw his 3 children grow up a little more before he said a final goodbye. 

I honor the memory and the life of this man.  I have seen the video of his lecture about  a year ago and it was truly extraordinary.  His punch line at the end made me cry.  It is worth your while to spend an hour to see it.