Those of you who have been reading here for a while will remember Boswell, our co-founder, better known as Mike Hemmerich.
Anyone who has met him would agree that he’s one of the nicest people you could possibly come across. He’s just a good, decent man.
So it is with profound sadness that we must tell you that Mike’s lovely wife, Cindy, passed away suddenly Monday night.
She died of an aortic dissection in her abdomen. Cindy was in good spirits earlier in the day. She kept herself in top shape and
literally would exercise for about 2.5 hours. a day, every day, so her passing was doubly shocking.
Like Mike, Cindy was one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet. Born in Lakewood, Ohio, in 1960, she attended Baldwin-Wallace College, majoring in political science.
Mike and Cindy had their first date on October 25, 1980, and got married four years later, on December 29, 1984. Mike ultimately became a triple Dukie, with an undergraduate degree, a law degree, and a business degree, and was also the dean in charge of Fuqua’s full-time MBA program. Cindy supported him all the way.
She supported Duke Basketball, too. Her first Final Four was in 1991, in Indianapolis. She and Mike loved following Duke.
She adored Golden Retrievers and had them throughout their marriage. The Hemmerichs currently have two, Biscuit and Shiloh.
She was a devoted Christian, and that was a big part of her life as shown by her kindness and generosity. She was active in women’s Bible studies.
Mike and Cindy are members of Hayes Barton Baptist Church, where her memorial service will be held, although the date has not been set.
Cindy was a big helper in the early days of the Duke Basketball Report. When the DBR was a printed newsletter, Mike and Cindy would go to Kinko’s to have copies made, then return to their kitchen table to staple the newsletters, stamp them, and add the addresses.
Her proudest achievement was adopting their daughter, Cameron Elena, from Russia in 2001, when she was 14 months old.
Mike and Cindy were in the process of adopting Cameron and were on their way back from St. Petersburg, Russia, to New York’s JFK on 9/11. They were in the air when the attacks took place, and were among the stranded in Europe.
That experience led to their love for the Broadway musical, ‘Come From Away,’ which recounts the story of how the people of Gander, Newfoundland opened up their homes, taverns, stores, and hearts to over 7,000 passengers who were grounded there when American airspace was shut down.
Mike and Cindy were planning, and excited to attend the VIP Opening Night of ‘Come From Away’ on September 16 at Ford’s Theatre, where he is on the Board of Trustees. In addition, he is on a special Commemorative Committee at Ford’s in remembrance of the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, for which George and Laura Bush are honorary Chairs.
Needless to say, it’s a devastating loss for Mike and Cameron. Losing someone is never easy, but when it just happens out of the blue, with no explanation or warning whatsoever, it’s that much more painful, difficult, and inexplicable.
As we publish this, we are also starting a condolence thread on the boards. If you could take a minute and go over and just post something for Mike and Cameron, that would mean the world to them.
Godspeed to Cindy and our deepest condolences to Mike and Cameron. You will be together again one day.
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