It is sad when people die, especially those that you know and have been close to. So I was saddened to hear that my cousin Nina passed away today after a battle with cancer. Taken before her time, I could say, but then, she did so much with her life and with such passion that perhaps she was able to nail every day in a way that many of us cannot.

She was a good person, a fighter, compassionate and committed to helping the less well-off. My cousin by marriage, she remained so even after divorce, raising two children and working tirelessly in welfare despite having an early MS diagnosis. So cancer was really the unsought double-whammy that took her from us.

From New York originally, she followed my cousin Ben to Australia and set up a new life. Many times she told me what a wonderful country she had found, one that took care of its citizens. But in taking, she then gave back, leaving her new homeland a better place for her being here.

Bless you my cousin. May you now rest in peace.