In Memoriam: Those We Have Lost

Elizabeth Edwards died Dec. 7, 2010, at age 61, just a day after announcing she had been advised that further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive. She died at her North Carolina home surrounded by her three children, siblings, friends and her estranged husband, John Edwards. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Before her death, Edwards thanked her supporters on Facebook, writing, "The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered .... 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. And for that I am grateful." (Courtesy Center for American Progress)