Posted on 03/29/2014 2:34:24 PM PDT by RatherBiased.com
The old saying that only the good die young is certainly apt to describe the passing of my dear friend and colleague Noel Sheppard at the age of 53.
I’ve known Noel since early 2005 when my brother Greg and I saw him contributing freelance pieces to the American Thinker. At the time, blogging was still relatively new and the political and media establishments (of both left and right) were still very wary about the idea that people without formal academic training could write about politics. As it turned out, the rest of America strongly disagreed.
Noel never intended to become a professional blogger once he began submitting pieces online. But just as America turned out to love reading blogs, Noel took to the new medium like a fish to water. Eventually, it became a full-time gig for him as he sold his financial planning business to pursue blogging full-time for us at NewsBusters as a mid-life career change.
It was a perfect combination. Noel loved attention and NewsBusters readers loved his work, making him by far the blog’s most popular writer. Very frequently, he single-handly brought in half of the site traffic each month.
In an earlier time, Noel would’ve been an ace reporter or well-known editor, such was his talent for spotting the hot story and writing about it in an engaging way. He also had the rare ability to make dry subjects interesting.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2014/03/29/tribute-my-friend-noel-sheppard#ixzz2xOEv7lIX
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
Oh my! At 53? Sad. RIP NS!
Rest in a well-deserved peace Noel!
So sad, was hoping for a miracle..to die so young :( this damn cancer they can’t find a cure for this horrible disease has killed too many good people..RIP Noel, you are now with the angels in heaven
A warrior has passed.
So sorry to hear this. Noel was one of my favorite bloggers. I freaking hate cancer, especially when it strikes out of the blue like that. I’ll say a prayer for his soul and for his family.
This sucks. Sheppard had a good knack for writing, and he was definitely on the right side of things. He will be missed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.