Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture

I cried for a man I had never met. I was not the only one. Last week, Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon computer scientist, who became best known for his "Last Lecture" lost his courageous fight against pancreatic cancer and died. He was 47.

Carnegie Mellon was doing a lecture series called "The Last Lecture" where they invited people to come speak as if it were their last lecture. Prior to giving his speech, Pausch was diagnosed with cancer and told he had 3 to 6 months to live (he lived almost a year). He gave a speech entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" and instantly became an internet sensation. While many have been inspired by his words the speech was actually intended for only three people: the children he left behind. He wanted them to live life to the fullest, to enjoy life, to believe anything is possible. He wanted them to have something to remember him by.

I've watched his lecture and seen him on Oprah and a variety of other shows, most recently a Primetime Special last night. I am struck by his candor; he truly was an amazing man. He possessed incredible perspective in the face of extreme adversity. His wife is unbelievably strong. She repeatedly said that she had made peace with the fact that she faced a future without her husband and the father of her children. She didn't like it, but she accepted it. She is made of strong stuff than I am made of.

As I watched the video of him with his family it makes it that much more heartbreaking to think of the enormity of their loss. This is something that those three children will never truly recover from. They'll move on, but their lives with forever be altered. I could not fathom losing my husband and having to explain to my children why they no longer have a father who comes home every night and plays with them.

Pausch exhibited an incredible love for his wife and children and a constant joy of life even as his body failed. This is a man who made stuffed animals for his children as a way to remember him once he was gone. This is a man who let his children paint their rooms and encourages other parents to do the same. This is a man who will be missed not only by his family and friends but by the millions who were somehow touched and inspired by him.

Yes, we have cried for a man we never knew. We have cried for a man who will continue to inspire even though he is gone. We have cried for a man who while came to be known for the touching lecture he gave will be remembered for the life he lived, the way he loved, and the graceful way in which he died. For that his wife, children, parents, and other loved ones should forever be proud.