Those of us at The Columbia Star are deeply saddened by the death of Rodney Ryan “Rod” Shealy who died August 18, 2010, of a brain tumor. Shealy owned a small chain of South Carolina newspapers including The Beaufort County News, The Lake Murray News, The Cayce– West Columbia News, The Northeast News, North Charleston News, Goose Creek, The Hanahan, and The New Irmo News.

Not only was Shealy an entrepreneur in the publishing business and a political advisor, but he helped find legislative support for the state’s autism insurance reform law, named “Ryan’s Law” after his nephew, Ryan Unumb. This critical role Shealy played started the movement that is now helping families across the nation access insurance. In the political arena, Shealy helped run campaigns for politicians such as Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer and senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint.

Shealy underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumor two years ago. He chronicled his fight against cancer on his blog. The last post was in May. “Whatever my future holds is okay with me. It’s a great life, and I love this life, but I’ve certainly had my fair share of it — probably more than my share — so when my time comes, it comes,” he wrote.

Shealy was an inspiration to all of us who work with weekly newspapers.