President Obama mourned the death of former aide Brandon Lepow, who passed away Monday night after a two-year fight with leukemia.
Lepow, 32, worked on Obama’s 2008 campaign and in the White House’s advance office and press shop.
{mosads}“He was someone that any American could be proud to have working on their behalf,” Obama said in a written statement Tuesday.
“He made his thirty-two years count,” the president added. “And those of us who knew him are better for it.”
One of Obama’s longest serving staffers, Lepow was a beloved figure in the West Wing.
More than 50 current and former administration aides traveled to Houston this summer to visit Lepow in his hometown, where he received treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Obama called those journeys “a testament to his dedication to others.”
White House press secretary Josh Earnest grew emotional in marking Lepow’s passing at the beginning of his daily briefing with reporters on Tuesday.
“As a relatively new father myself, I’ve also been thinking about the kind of man I want my son to grow up to be,” a choked-up Earnest said. “And Brandon’s courage in confronting tough challenges, his selflessness and humility in interacting both with those he loved and those he barely knew and his passion for what he believed in makes him a genuine role model.”