RIP Elizabeth

[Barb51850]

A very classy lady is gone.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/...pt=T1&iref=BN1

[Trish]

Very sad. She handled her life with grace.

[smr15]

Sad for her family, especially her children. The two youngest are 12 and 10, I believe.
I wonder if the eldest daughter (28) will take over the responsibility of being the primary caretaker for them..... I think they'd be better with her than with their father.

RIP, Elizabeth.

[RYMASTER or Ryan_Yankees]

So in the last 14 years of her life, she lost a son, had breast cancer twice, and her husband had an affair. Talk about a tough run of luck.

[Yankee Tripper]

When I saw this thread title my first thought was, "the Queen of England died"?

RIP Elizabeth Edwards, as Ryan said, it has been a tough past few years for her.

[Yankee Tripper]

Sad for her family, especially her children. The two youngest are 12 and 10, I believe.
I wonder if the eldest daughter (28) will take over the responsibility of being the primary caretaker for them..... I think they'd be better with her than with their father.

RIP, Elizabeth.

John Edwards may not have been the ideal husband but is there anything I should know about him being a bad father? I can't recall hearing anything but I didn't follow the gossip that closely.

Very sad for the kids. Can't imagine what it would be like losing a mother at those ages. Has to be very tough.

[jlw1980]

Sad for her family, especially her children. The two youngest are 12 and 10, I believe.
I wonder if the eldest daughter (28) will take over the responsibility of being the primary caretaker for them..... I think they'd be better with her than with their father.

RIP, Elizabeth.

Very sad. She was 48 and 50 when her last two kids were born. I can't imagine losing my mother now, much less at those ages. 61 is too young.

[Eldee5]

Her battle is finished. May she rest in peace.

[Tifoso]

Very sad. She was 48 and 50 when her last two kids were born. I can't imagine losing my mother now, much less at those ages. 61 is too young.

50? The kids are adopted?

[Yankee Tripper]

50? The kids are adopted?

No. not everyone has kids early in life these days.

[4bronxbombers]

I felt so bad when I heard about this earlier today. I don't even know her but my heart goes out to her. May she RIP.

[smr15]

John Edwards may not have been the ideal husband but is there anything I should know about him being a bad father? I can't recall hearing anything but I didn't follow the gossip that closely.

Let's call it a gut feeling. He didn't seem to care too much about the absolute hell he put not only his wife, but his kids through with his affair.
He denied fathering the child of his mistress until push came to shove.

I don't know. I'm just going to trust my gut and say the kids would be better off on a daily basis with their sister. I'm not saying he shouldn't be in their lives, but I think their primary care might be better satisfied with the older sister.

[smr15]

50? The kids are adopted?

She had two older children - a daughter, now 28, and another son who died at 16 in a car accident.
The younger two were later in life children.

[Trish]

Let's call it a gut feeling. He didn't seem to care too much about the absolute hell he put not only his wife, but his kids through with his affair.
He denied fathering the child of his mistress until push came to shove.

I don't know. I'm just going to trust my gut and say the kids would be better off on a daily basis with their sister. I'm not saying he shouldn't be in their lives, but I think their primary care might be better satisfied with the older sister.

I don't know if the older sister is any better equipped to handle a 12 and 10 year old any more than I was at that age. I certainly couldn't have done a good job of it.

I certainly will make no judgments of the man for having an affair. He may have learned a lot from his experiences that would make him a better person, who know.

[smr15]

I have a feeling it may be a 'community' type of arrangement. I think there's quite a bit of family there in North Carolina.

The best of luck to all of them.
Its a horrible situation to deal with.

Damn cancer.

[JDPNYY]

Rest in peace.

[wexy]

Rest In Peace.

[sugmasterflex]

Rest In Peace.

RIP Elizabeth.

[Octoberbaby]

Very sad. She was 48 and 50 when her last two kids were born. I can't imagine losing my mother now, much less at those ages. 61 is too young.

My mother died of breast cancer just before she turned 60 so I can say firsthand that it is not fun and you never get over it.

Rest in Peace, Elizabeth.

[SalingerNY]

A nice tribute from James Fallows:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...edwards/67668/

Nearly seven years ago, during the New Hampshire primary campaigns of the 2004 election, the Atlantic hosted a dinner for politicians and strategists in Manchester. At the time John Edwards was fighting hard against John Kerry, Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, and the others. The dinner had a lot of genuine big-shots who were used to listening to themselves and having their views sought. Two of the TV network news anchors; other journalistic big-foot types; some academics, plus several candidates' campaign managers; and Mitt Romney, then the sitting governor of Massachusetts, there to represent the GOP.

The longer the evening went on, the more people kept deferring to and asking questions of Elizabeth Edwards. By the end, it was like a seminar that she was conducting for the rest. She was talking mainly not about her husband's campaign but about her assessment of the larger shape of the presidential race. Where Bush and Cheney would be most vulnerable in the general election; what Karl Rove had figured out; how the New Hampshire results would position the Democrats for "mini-Tuesday" the next week and "super-Tuesday" a month later; how Democrats could talk about economic justice without sounding like big-government spendthrifts; what to say and do about Iraq.There was nothing "brave" or tragic about it, just someone who was intelligent, clear-eyed, and tough. I would like to remember that accomplished side of her.

[Trish]

My mother died of breast cancer just before she turned 60 so I can say firsthand that it is not fun and you never get over it.

Rest in Peace, Elizabeth.

I'm sorry. I didn't know that. My mother was 63. Sucks, doesn't it?

[4bronxbombers]

My MIL died of it at 67. She was the greatest lady I'm so sad my kids barely remember her and my youngest never got to meet her. So sad.

[Jersey Yankee]

I never followed her much, but she seemed like a very dignified lady.

How was John received by her family and friends, since he stood by her bedside in her last few days.

[JfromJersey]

R.i.p.

[35Knucklecurve]

I had just looked at the Yahoo home page before I left work, and the headline read, "Gravely ill". So I was shocked to learn of her death about an hour later.

The battle is over, but she is now at peace, in the best of all places. What a tremendously strong person she was.