Newsweek columnist Eleanor Clift writes an obituary for her husband Tom Brazaitis, who passed away one day before Terri Schiavo this week.

Like Clift, Brazaitis was an outspoken liberal, who wrote for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. On most political issues, most Beltway Buzz readers and I would undoubtedly disagree with them. But in a week that has seen the passing of Terri Schiavo and the declining health of the Pope, this is a loving tribute to a husband and journalist worth reading.

On a personal note, I will add that back in the year 2000 when I was an intern, Clift was assigned to me as a “lunchtime mentor” through the Washington Center for Politics and Journalism.

All politics aside, she was a great mentor for that afternoon, showing me around the Newsweek offices, offering constructive advice on landing a career in Washington and just being a friendly figure to a wide-eyed college kid whom just about everyone else told “you won’t get a job here.”