Russell Shaw died in his sleep sometime Thursday night or Friday morning at a hotel in San Jose. I heard the news today from Ellen, his girlfriend, the woman he calls “his grounding force” in this interview I did with the two of them last year. He loved Ellen. They met last year. She said it was the sweetest time with Russ. I believe it. Russell looked great the last time I saw him. Ellen said that they had started talking about the rest of their lives together. She said she planned to retire in a year. Russ said he had no plans to retire. He would write until the very end.
Russell loved his work. Marshall Kirkpatrick called him the “hardest working” blogger in the business. Corante founder Hylton Joliffe introduced me to Russ. Hylton said “you have to meet Russell. He’s a rock star.”
Russell was a rock star blogger. He would wake at 4 a.m., write until 10 a.m. and then take a two hour nap. He’d then work until 10 p.m. He wrote as many as ten posts a day for such publications as Huffington Post and ZDNet. Andy Abramson said Russell was best known for his BlackBerry blog that he was often the most proud of and his work with ZD Net where he blogged on all things Telecom.
When Ellen called, she said to sit down. She told me the news. I cried. Russ and I were buddies. I felt I knew him more than most folks. He had a big heart and a quick wit. Most of all, he’d listen and could relate to many of the issues I faced in my personal life. He’s what you wanted in a friend.
Funny, at SXSW, I kept thinking about Russ. I needed to touch base with him. I wanted to invite him and Ellen to our wedding. Ellen, I hope you will be there with us.
Judy asked today where I thought Russ might be right now. I though of his love for trains. I said he must be on a train, happy to be with loved ones.
I can’t believe he is gone.
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