Dear Ms. Deighan and Mr. Skelding,

I’m writing to you to express, belatedly, my deepest condolences for your loss. I’m a journalist in New York and I was a friend of Conor’s there. I’ve been meaning to write this letter to you for months and I had struggled with it because I didn’t know what exactly to say. Conor and I were in the business of words but sometimes words fail you. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through and I hope you can find comfort in this very difficult time. I wanted to share simply that I knew your son and he was a rarity: a brilliant, original thinker, and very fun to be around. I miss, tremendously, how he would get this twinkle in his eye before getting ready to out-debate you on any policy point. He could always do it because he was smarter than you, because his mind worked at a deeper level. He truly stood out wherever he went and he was made of better stuff than the rest of us. More important than his superlative mind, Conor had an enormous heart. He wasn’t a cynic. He cared deeply. The world is profoundly worse off without him. Death is very hard to comprehend and I haven’t quite understood year that Conor isn’t coming back. Your family is in my thoughts and Conor is someone I think about every day. My condolences again for your terrible loss.

Sincerely, Ross (Barkan)