by , 7:00 AM EDT, June 17th, 2002

We are very sad to announce the passing of TMO staff member Rodney O. Lain. Rodney died during the weekend; his family tells TMO that Rodney took his own life after a long battle with depression. Rodney is survived by his wife, Irma.

Rodney began writing Rodney's Soap Box for TMO in July of 2000. That column was replaced with his long running iBrotha column a few months later when Rodney brought that column to us from MacAddict. In addition to those works under his columns' names, Rodney has penned many other editorials, news stories, and reviews for us since joining our staff.

Rodney has also written for what seems like every Mac magazine on the Internet at one time or another, including, but not limited to, AppleLinks, Applelust, MacAddict, MacConnect, TheiMac.com, and MyMac, along with his current regular writing at Low End Mac and The Mac Observer. In addition, Rodney participated in numerous forums throughout the Mac Web, often with the forum name of "iBrotha." He was once quoted in a Wired article, mentioned in the Pioneer Press, and interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio. He even has an entire Web site dedicated to dissecting, criticizing, and insulting both his work and himself. You can find much of his writing by doing a search on Google for Rodney O. Lain.

Rodney had a Master's degree, has taught journalism and English at a university, and was very interested and vocal about religion. He was also very dedicated to writing, and was a member of a Writing Club (not Mac related) in the TMO forums. He worked as an IT professional at a Fortune 100 company, and usually worked part time selling Macs at various Mac retailers in his area.

Rodney wrote to make us think, to make us laugh, and to make us angry. He usually succeeded at those goals, which made him one of the most-loved, and hated, writers in the Mac world. Rodney reveled in both, and he will be missed. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

You are invited to join Rodney's friends from the Mac Web and the physical world in our forums to talk about Rodney, his work, and the memories we have of him.