R.I.P.

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before in these pages at some point over the years, my mom, Lois Bynum, is the executive director of a small local nonprofit organization, the Reno Cancer Foundation. The organization helps Northern Nevada cancer patients pay their medical and living expenses. I’m intensely proud of my mom and the work she does.

The organization is housed within Renown Regional Medical Center, but it provides support to cancer patients throughout our community. The foundation’s budget isn’t huge, and it doesn’t always attract the kind of attention and financial support that larger nonprofit organizations get. My mom is the only full-time employee. She often relies on help from volunteers.

A dedicated volunteer named Sarah Herndon helped the RCF immensely the last couple of years. Sarah created a new website and a stronger social media presence for the organization. She created and managed fundraisers.

Sarah Herndon died on Jan. 31, after battling cancer for four years.

I never met her in person, but I admired her vivacious social media presence and the crucial support—professional and personal—she gave to my mom and the RCF. From what my mom has told me, she was an inspiration to everyone who met her. I was shocked by the news and wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude for what Sarah did and to express my condolences to her family and friends.

She was born in Reno, graduated from Galena High School and attended the University of Nevada, Reno. She was the mother of two young daughters. She was only 31.

My mom: “Sarah was an example to everyone how to face challenges with grace, perseverance and love.”