Remembering a Friend: David Thibault, Editor-in-Chief of CNSNews.com, Passes Away

The Media Research Center and NewsBusters staff was saddened to learn Friday that David Thibault, Editor-in-Chief of the MRC's CNSNews.com news site, passed away this morning after a long struggle with cancer. He will be greatly missed by all those who knew him, especially his MRC family.

The text of a tribute by CNSNews.com Senior Editor Susan Jones:

David Thibault, RIP: Farewell to a Friend

"I feel great -- much better than before I got sick," wrote CNSNews.com Editor-in-Chief Dave Thibault ten months ago. "Don't worry about me being tired...I sense a miracle in the making. The power of prayer? Oh yeah, baby!"

When Dave wrote those words, he was several months into his second battle with cancer. But this time it was leukemia, and this time it wasn't the disease but the valiant efforts to cure him that killed him at age 49. Dave breathed his last at 6:55 AM, July 20, at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

For those who knew him, the unwavering faith that sustained Dave throughout his long struggle is the true miracle. One colleague speaks for us all: "He was the most honorable man I have ever known, and his faith, integrity, character, vision, drive, and enthusiasm are an inspiration to me every day."

Dave was a New England kid. It was in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the young reporter for a local radio station was bitten by the news bug that brought him to Washington.

Dave's first job in the nation's capital was in the office of Judd Gregg, then a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire, now a Granite State U.S. Senator.

Dave moved from Capitol Hill to television, producing and writing newscasts for the ABC affiliate in Washington. In 1993, Dave brought his television expertise to the Republican National Committee, producing and writing various news segments for a national audience.

He came to the Media Research Center in May 2000, eager to join the MRC's new enterprise that would shape him -- and us -- in important ways. Under his leadership, the fledgling Cybercast News Service thrived and grew into a real journalistic powerhouse in the "new media." But what was more striking to those who worked with him was the energy and integrity that Dave brought to all that he did.

Above all else, Dave was a passionate advocate for excellence in all aspects of his life. He demanded much of others, but always more of himself. Because of his cancer, Dave suffered more than we can imagine -- and we can only imagine because he refused to show it. What we do know is how he loved life. Dave dreamed big, and he lived many of his big dreams.

Three and a half weeks after meeting Lisa Gagnon in 1986, he proposed to her. The love affair never ended. Together they adopted three children from Russia. Father's Day cards and crayon drawings hang on his office wall.

Dave loved the Boston Red Sox, and he spent two weeks fulfilling a dream -- attending the Official Boston Red Sox Fantasy Camp in Florida.

Dave loved to golf, so he went to Scotland.

Dave successfully battled testicular cancer, and he not only read Lance Armstrong's book -- he sought out and met the athlete who had inspired him to fight the disease.

Dave loved to run, so he ran seven different marathons, including the Boston Marathon -- twice. The second time, he did so with leukemia. But he didn't know it then.

There is a poster hanging in Dave's office, called The Run Within.

"There may be dew on the ground, there may be snow, there may be rain, or the ground may be dry," the poster reads. "But I will find the trail, the path, the track or the road because none will come to me. A path to one more hill. One more mile. One second faster. I awaken to the run outside, and each day I live The Run Within."

Dave Thibault's race is now finished, and what a great run it was. Now he rests with God, and he is most probably patiently lecturing the angels on the superiority of his beloved Boston Red Sox.