Anita Rowland passes away, rough week for the blogosphere

I just received an e-mail from Karen Anderson, the assistant organizer for the Seattle Weblogger Meetups, delivering the news that Anita Rowland (who organized those meet-ups) died of cancer today.

She is the second blogger I remember from geek dinners at Crossroads Mall to pass away in less than a week.  Robert Scoble even linked to a rather saddening photo from one of those dinners with both Marc and Anita in it.

You didn’t have to even meet Anita to know her name and that she was a pillar of the Seattle blogging community.  I only wish I’d taken better advantage of her monthly meet-ups. 

My thoughts and sympathies are with her husband Jack, Riley, and the rest of her family.