Jul 25, 2008 7:32 pm US/Eastern
Carnegie Mellon Mourns Passing Of Randy Pausch
A walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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CMU Professor Randy Pausch died of complications from pancreatic cancer this morning
KDKA
The Carnegie Mellon University campus is mourning the death of Randy Pausch, the professor whose inspirational "Last Lecture" became an Internet sensation.
Pausch, who has been battling pancreatic cancer since September of 2006, died at his home in Virginia this morning.
Word of his death has quickly spread and calls have been coming in from all over the world from those touched by his message.
Pausch shared his lifelong adventure and the world took note last September when he gave what has come to be known as the "Last Lecture."
Over the past months on the CMU campus, Pausch has kept students, colleagues and friends up to date on the progress of his terminal cancer on a special webpage.
His last posting described how the chemotherapy was making him so sick and weak that it wasn't clear if it was the right tradeoff.
Since he wasn't strong enough to post any more messages, a friend updated the website yesterday explaining: "A biopsy last week revealed that the cancer has progressed further than we had thought from recent PETscans. Since last week, Randy has also taken a step down and is much sicker than he had been. He's now enrolled in hospice."
In an obituary released by the school, Carnegie Mellon President Jared Cohon said, "Randy was a brilliant researcher and gifted teacher. Carnegie Mellon and the world are better places for having Randy Pausch in them."
On campus, people who knew him tried to find words to describe the loss.
"It is very difficult," Pausch's friend, Cleah Schlueter, told KDKA.
Schlueter spoke with Pausch's wife this morning by phone about his final hours.
"He was in pain and I think they knew that he was deteriorating," Schlueter added, "but they didn't thing that he was going to pass so soon. It was kind of unexpected, too."
Pausch, 47, is survived by his wife, Jai, and three young children, Chloe, Dylan and Logan.
When asked about them, Schlueter said "they're going to survive. I mean that's what you have to do. That's what life is all about."
According to a posting on the CMU website, the Pausch family requests that any donations be made to the
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or to
Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund. Meanwhile, a walk to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research in North Park next month will now be held in memory of Randy Pausch. "Pick Up The Pace" for pancreatic cancer will be held on Sunday, August 17th at the North Park Boathouse.
For more details, log on to
PanCan.org/PickUpThePace
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