Julia Thorn has passed away from Cancer - CNN announced

[Sydnie]

Julia was John Kerry's first wife and mother of his daughters.

RIP Julia.

Condolences to the whole family. :grouphug:

[npincus]

1. I'm sorry to hear this.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. How very sad

[Greeby]

3. Damn

:cry:

[MarianJack]

4. How Long Before the rethuglicans...

...start blaming John &Teresa for this?

I know it's a horrible thought, but one thing we know is that there is no bottom to the cesspool of smear to which these "people" will resort. THIS is the rove legacy of politics for the next generation.

[noonwitch]

8. No, no, they will find a way to blame Bill Clinton for it

I'm sure he had something to do with it. If he didn't, Hillary must have-maybe Ms. Thorn knew their secrets and they didn't want her to talk. Jim McDougal died of cancer right before he was going to talk, after all!

[Jim Lane]

25. They're already trying to smear her

An anonymous user edited her Wikipedia bio to include an unsourced insinuation that she might have committed suicide. (Don't worry, it's already been removed.) This anon was evidently a RWer; s/he also tried to sanitize the article on Mary McCarthy, the CIA whistleblower, to conceal the political motivation of the investigation.

Julia Thorne bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Thorne
Mary McCarthy bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_McCarthy_%28CIA_employee%29

As an aside, I don't think you'd find quite the same cordial relationships with ex-spouses in the lives of such divorced luminaries as George Allen, Rudy Giuliani, or John McCain.

[blm]

16. Julia suffered from depression and wrote two great books about it.

At one point she said depression isn't entirely a bad thing in the sense that there is so much more you can learn about life because of it.

That must be a very uplifting observation for the millions of others who have it and are working through it every day of their lives.

[Old and In the Way]

5. My condolences as well.

Your daughters reflect well on you, Julia.

[Crankie Avalon]

6. Rest in peace. She helped raise two fine young women. eom

[ProSense]

7. Here is Julia Thorne's obituary

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/04/28/julia_thorne_at_61_author_activist_was_ex_wife_of_senator_kerry/

:cry:

Rest in peace.


My condolences to the family.

[Sydnie]

12. Thank you for that

I had not seen it.

[ginnyinWI]

15. I didn't know she was such an activist-advocate

But it makes sense; she had a lot in common with her ex in these things.
Vanessa and Alex have had two wonderful parents.

[johnnie]

9. Sad to hear this

My condolences to her family and friends.

[Alamom]

10. Very sad. Condolences to her family. n/t

[tishaLA]

11. Terribly Sad.

My Condolences to Ms Thorn, her family, and loved ones.

[vickie]

13. My love and condolences to the Thorn and Kerry families. It

seems as though John Kerry has always been surrounded by people of extraordinary character and spirit (at every level and area of his life). Ms. Thorn and her contributions will be sorely missed by those of us on this side of life. Rest in peace sweet Madame.

[MH1]

23. Yes..

John Kerry has always been surrounded by people of extraordinary character and spirit (at every level and area of his life)

I've noticed that too...it says a lot about both of them that they remained friends and she continued to support him.

I am sorry that I didn't learn more about Julia before, she sounds like a great person.

RIP Julia, and condolences to the family. :grouphug:

[demdiva]

14. Condolences to Alex, Vanessa and the Thorne family

[LSK]

17. Lets get the facts out there because you know its coming

"Ms. Thorne never felt comfortable with the demands of being a political wife.

''What she disdained more than anything was politics," said Douglas Brinkley in a telephone interview yesterday. Brinkley, the author of ''Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War," added that Ms. Thorne ''didn't enjoy the breakfasts, the lunches, the shaking of hands: the upbeat rigamarole of politics. She loathed the back-stabbing of it. She went on her own journey, one based on spirituality and nature."

Ms. Thorne and Kerry divorced in 1988. She moved to Wyoming in 1993 and became active in environmental causes."

My condolences to Ms. Thorne and the Kerry family.

[demdiva]

18. However, just for the record, she fully supported John Kerry's nomination

From the same article

"Ms. Thorne and Kerry remained friendly after their divorce and she supported his presidential candidacy in 2004. ''I don't have a single reservation about this man," she said in 2003. 'He is an extraordinarily astute politician'."

[karynnj]

20. Also, they clearly worked very very hard to insure the girls were ok

Both Vanessa and Alexandra appear to have had excellent relationships with both parents - which has to mean that both parents were there for them. As to the post you responded to, there's really nothing bad in that paragraph and it was said before 2004.

They actually seem like two very good people who loved each other, but the lives they wanted were incompatible and by all accounts, Julia recognized that and asked for a divorce. In the BG biography she spoke of Kerry being incredibly happy winning the Democratic nomination for Lt Governor and she realizing she couldn't be happy living that live (and that he was meant for that life.) Given that people threw rocks through their window after Kerry ran the first time, once barely missing Alexandra who was in a cradle, it's easy to see why she might see politics in a negative light.

I assume 2004 had to be hard on her because her two daughters were so involved and the attacks were so nasty.

[demdiva]

Thanks for that karynnj

[demdiva]

22. Thanks for that karynnj

[demdiva]

19. Another article on CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/28/kerry.ex.wife.obit/index.html

"Julia was the best mother two daughters could ask for," Kerry said in a statement released by his office. "She always put our kids ahead of everything. She was completely committed to them and their future. Julia fought a hugely courageous fight against cancer and she passed away with the same grace with which she lived. Everyone who knew her will miss her beyond words."

[IdaBriggs]

21. One more death at Reagan's door -- Damn him for cutting cancer research!

The lives we've lost due to his poor judgment beggar us....:cry:

Sympathies and support to her family..... :grouphug:

[wicket]

24. Oh no!

:cry:

[saracat]

26. I am so sorry. I lost my mother to cancer at twenty.

I can imagine how the girls feel. And I am so sorry for the Senator. May they be granted peace,

[suegeo]

27. Cancer blows