When I read Friday that Tim Russert had died of an apparent heart attack, I felt very sad. I didn’t know him personally but of course I had seen Meet the Press many times over his years at the helm, saw him cover elections, interview politicians and news makers of our time.

I was drawn over the weekend to read stories about him and watch a couple of shows about his life–one was Friday night with Tom Brokaw. Cheryl recorded the Meet the Press for June 14 which was a televised celebration for it’s deceased moderator.  Both shows were excellent and very heartfelt. It amazes me how a network can pull together these kinds of shows in such a short time. 

Several times during both shows, I thought the normally stoic Brokaw was nearly brought to tears. He was not only speaking of a co-worker that died but the loss of a man that he considered to be a good friend.

From the multiple interviews that I saw and the articles I read, these are the things that I have learned about Tim Russert-some new and some I knew: He loved his family dearly, he believed faithfully in God, he was always prepared for his interviews, his questions were tough but fair, he was extremely smart without making others feel inadequate, he took the time to be a real friend to many, he always tried to build othes up, he championed the underdog–in sports and in life, he was from Buffalo and never forgot his humble roots, he was a man of integrity and strength.

A co-worker of and I were discussing the weekend and naturally the Russert topic came up. I said that I thought it was wonderful how so many people had such great things to say about him. Her response with a cynical tone was that of course no one was going to say he was a bad guy during an interview about him dying.

I thought about this for a moment. At first I inclined to agree but then I realized how genuine all of the people interviewed seemed to be and how each interview resounded with the same theme; Tim Russert loved his life, the people in it, he loved his job, was very good at it, he wasn’t anything close to a saint but he was truly a good person. 

I wonder how many of us will be able to have these kinds of things said and meant about our life, of how we lived and treated the other guy when we die? In retrospect seems like Tim might have been a guy most of us would like to have called a friend.