Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former vice presidential nominee John Edwards, died on Tuesday with her family at her side after a long struggle with breast cancer. She was 61.
During her life, Edwards was unusually prolific as a politician’s wife. Throughout John Edwards’ political career, from his time in the Senate to his 2004 and 2008 candidacies for president, Elizabeth emerged as a vibrant public speaker and a political strategist.
Her personal life was often tumultuous. She spoke publicly about her son’s premature death in a car accident and her battle with cancer, often to illustrate the need for robust health care reform. In 2008, her marriage crumbled in separation after news reports revealed that her husband was in an affair with another woman.
“In her life, Elizabeth Edwards knew tragedy and pain,” said President Barack Obama in a statement on her passing. “Many others would have turned inward; many others in the face of such adversity would have given up. But through all that she endured, Elizabeth revealed a kind of fortitude and grace that will long remain a source of inspiration. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.”
“This is very sad news, and the fact that it isn’t a surprise makes it no easier to hear,” said Sen. John Kerry, John Edwards’ running mate in 2004. “Elizabeth Edwards was an incredibly loving, giving, and devoted mother, and Teresa and our entire family are grateful for the time we shared getting to know her in 2004.”
Elizabeth wrote two memoirs, “Saving Graces” and “Resilience,” reflecting both on some of the most difficult moments of her life and on the friends and family who she said gave her the strength to carry on.
After doctors told her that continued treatment for her cancer would not be effective, she posted a final public Facebook message to her supporters on Monday, hours before her death.
“You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope,” she wrote. “These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human.”
“But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious,” she continued. “And for that I am grateful. It isn’t possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.”
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
