RIP Anita Rowland, blogging pioneer and sf convention runner
RIP, Anita Rowland, the pioneering blogger and prominent science fiction fan and west coast con-runner. Anita died yesterday of cancer at the age of 51. I met Anita and her husband, Jack William Bell, through science fiction circles, and got to know them both as gregarious, generous, friendly souls with sunny dispositions and a penchant for hilarious, geeky antics. I saw Anita this summer at the World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan, and though she was very thin and bald from the chemo treatments, she was grinning sunnily and clearly having a wonderful time and not letting anything get her down. She was and remains an inspiration, and it's a terrible thing that she was taken from us so early.
My deepest condolences to Jack and her family. I've just made a donation to Anita's medical fund -- her treatment was incredibly expensive and put a heavy burden on the family finances -- and I hope you'll consider doing so too. Link to Anita's site, Link to Jack William Bell's memorial for Anita, Link to Anita's medical fund
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Wow. I knew that she'd been fighting cancer but I'd been under the impression that she was winning or holding her own.
Anita and I used to work together and she was always there with a funny quip. She recently gave me advice on where to stay in Japan as she and Jack visited the country just before my wife and I did.
She'll be missed.
Another way to help people suffering under the US's primitive health care system: support HR 676.
Oh, hell. I didn't know either.
#2 Will Shetterly--I respectfully suggest that we not hijack this tribute by starting a political/policy discussion.
Though I did not know Anita, she sounds like a wonderful person who touched many lives.
I knew Anita through swing dancing years ago, and didn't even know she had cancer. Sad news.
Thank you for posting this, Cory. Anita was funny, kind, practical, and smart, and she gave so much to so many different communities. We all will miss her.
I knew Anita and Jack through the Seattle Weblogger Meetup (back when it was cool). She was a great person, a great organizer, and will be a great loss to the west coast world of geekery. She will be missed.