The world said goodbye to one of the good guys Saturday.
34 year old White House staffer, Jake Brewer, died after suffering fatal injuries in a head-on collision after he rode his bike off of the track during the Ride to Conquer Cancer charity fundraiser bike race, where he was cycling to raise money for a friend who has cancer.
His death was announced Sunday morning in a heart-breaking, heartfelt Instagram post by his wife, Montgomery native and frequent Fox News guest and conservative commentator, Mary Katharine Ham:
We lost our Jake yesterday, and I lost part of my heart and the father of my sweet babies. I don’t have to tell most of you how wonderful he was. It was self-evident. His life was his testimony, and it was powerful and tender and fierce, with an ever-present twinkle in the eye. I will miss him forever, even more than I can know right now. No arms can be her father’s, but my daughter is surrounded by her very favorite people and all the hugs she could imagine.
This will change us, but with prayer and love and the strength that is their companion, we can hope our heartache is not in vain– that it will change us and the world in beautiful ways, just as he did. If that sounds too optimistic at this time, it’s because it is. But there was no thought too optimistic for Jake, so take it and run with it.
I will strive and pray not to feel I was cheated of many years with him, but cherish the gift of the years I had. In a life where nothing is guaranteed, Jake made the absolute, ever-lovin’ most of his time with all of us.
This is a family picture we took a couple weeks ago. It was taken because Jake, as always, was ready with a camera and his immense talent. All four members of our little, growing family are in it. I can never be without him because these babies are half him. They are made of some of the strongest, kindest stuff God had to offer this world.
Please pray that he can see us and we’ll all make him proud.
God, I love him.
Psalm 34:18, Philippians 1:3
Jacob – known as “Jake” – was a senior policy advisor to President Barack Obama in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and had previously worked as the director of external affairs at Change.org.
On Sunday, President Obama offered his condolences in a statement, calling Brewer “one of the best”:
I am heartbroken at the tragic loss of one of my advisors, Jake Brewer. We set out to recruit the best of the best to join their government and help us harness the power of technology and data to innovate new solutions for the 21st century. Simply put, Jake was one of the best. Armed with a brilliant mind, a big heart, and an insatiable desire to give back, Jake devoted his life to empowering people and making government work better for them. He worked to give citizens a louder voice in our society. He engaged our striving immigrants. He pushed for more transparency in our democracy. And he sought to expand opportunity for all.
I’ve often said that today’s younger generation is smarter, more determined, and more capable of making a difference than I was as a young man. Jake was proof of that. Michelle and I are praying for all of Jake’s family and his many friends, most of all his wife, Mary Katharine Ham, their daughter, Georgia, and their growing family. They’ll always have a family here at the White House.
“The pain and shock is devastating. Jake leaves behind an adoring wife, Mary Katharine, a beautiful toddler, Georgia, and another baby on the way,” read a GoFundMe fundraiser page set up by friends of Mary Katharine in order to help provide for their children as they grow up. She has also asked that people donate to The Travis Manion Foundation, which supports families of fallen U.S. servicemen.
In approximately 26 hours, the page reached its $200,000 goal.
According to Allahpundit at Hotair.com, at Mary Katharine’s insistence, funds in “excess above and beyond what’s needed for the care and education of the children will be donated to charity. That’s what kind of person she is. At a moment of supreme horror and panic, she thought of how she might do some good for others too.”
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