On Thursday I learned that my friend Gwen Swanson, a reporter during my tenure at the Hibbing Tribune, passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Just three weeks from diagnosis. Just 34 years old. She was one of those kind, gentle souls who put others first as a sort of reflexive instinct.
Gwen’s last note to me expressed hope I wouldn’t be disappointed that she would have to take some time off from grad school, something at which she was excelling. My goodness Gwen, I am only disappointed that you are gone.
My thoughts are with her family, her boyfriend and her many friends she had made since her move out west, where she had found peace of mind and a better future for herself. She made her own way home. And she is home, true to her personality, well before curfew. So early, in fact, as not to be fair. Goodbye, my friend.
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