John Mudd, a REALTOR in Tampa, FL, died this month. Mudd was a real estate blogging pioneer who posted gregariously about luxury homes and equally passionately about the blogging medium. He was a contributing blogger on the Inman blog, and wrote about blogging for major trade press, including REALTOR Magazine. The news of his death in blogging circles first appeared in Rain City Guide, followed by an Inman news blog entry pointing to an article in Pinellas Park (FL) Beacon.
The exact date of Mudd's death is unknown. Police report that he died of natural causes and they have scheduled an autopsy. Mudd lived with his grandmother, who thought that he was sleeping for days, according to police. His badly decomposed body was found on a living room couch. Officials speculate that he died between July 17 and July 26. They responded to a call from a co-worker who said that he had not reported to work in several days. His grandmother is now in medical custody, according to the police.
John Mudd's last blog entry is dated July 9, 2006. John sold real estate in the Tampa area and blogged frequently about selling homes to affluent buyers.
He was a lifelong diabetic and a passionate advocate for stem cell research. He sent me an e-mail last August and asked me to join him for National Cell-A-Thon Day. I did!
"As a lifelong, insulin-dependent diabetic, I am asking you to call President Bush tomorrow, Tuesday, August 9th, at 202-456-1414, to ask him to sign H.R. 810 into law. The bill will cause embryonic stem cells to be used in various cure research, from cancer to diabetes to Parkinson's to Alzheimer's. Vetoing the bill will cause the same embryonic stem cells to be thrown in the garbage. We can save lives, or we can throw them away. Thank you in advance for any help or support you lend in the effort to get H.R. 810 signed into law."--John Mudd
He died too young! He inspired a whole generation of real estate bloggers. We will miss him, but we will remember his message and we will continue to lobby for stem cell research.
I am a newly licensed agent, don't know much about real estate yet but know how to get around the web a bit.
I'll make sure to become an excellent blogger like Mr. Mudd.
I'll be sure to have the best. To be the best.
Posted by: Edgar Espinoza | October 29, 2006 at 10:39 PM
This story hits hard. As a diabetic and a 18 year veteran in real estate, I live in an area that is debating the stem cell research. People just don't understand unless it affects them.
Posted by: DowellTaggart | November 06, 2006 at 07:57 AM
Thank you for bringing such nice posts. Your blog is always fascinating to read.
Posted by: John | June 22, 2007 at 04:11 AM