There are two times in life when people are very eager to share a story about their relationship to you – if you become famous and when you die. It’s sad that fame and death bring about a sudden urge to claim a connection to someone. Unfortunately, this post is about someone that has recently passed away. I want to share this story because not only is it about a successful, brave, inspirational and admirable young woman, it’s also the story of someone I never met but have conversed with through every possible digital medium.

Three years ago, I was introduced to Lillian Davenport because she sent an inquiry via my website based on a mutual connection that referred her to me. After about 10 emails back and forth and half a dozen realized common connections, Lillian and I finally found a time to talk on the phone about how we could work together. She was a graphic designer which I was always looking to partner up with because I could refer a lot of business to them and vice versa. Our conversation was great and we agreed to find a time to meet but we kept trying and one of us always had a conflict. Lillian and I connected on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc and a few short months after we spoke on the phone, Lillian posted this on Facebook.

This was an incredibly brave woman to open up to everyone like this. I followed her journey over the next two years and prayed for her.

I checked Lillian’s page frequently to see how she was doing.  Finally, it seemed as though she was starting to recover based on her posts. However, that was not the case and a few days before Christmas, she posted this devastating update. 

She fought so hard all throughout 2012. I watched, rooting for her and all unbeknownst to her. Just shy of a year later, Lillian posted this update:

It seemed so unfair and cruel that this young woman was fighting for her life each day and she just kept receiving more bad news. I didn’t feel like it was my place to contact her but I regret not doing so, now that she has passed. I barely knew this person but was deeply saddened by the announcement of her death late last week. Lillian was only 32 years old.

This was Lillian’s final post on Facebook about 6 weeks before she passed. You can read her pain. At least she is no longer suffering. 

RIP Lillian Julia Davenport-Partac 12.03.1980 – 06.26.2013