Michael Thaler, a longtime editor at Hackensack daily The North Jersey Record, passed away on January 4 of parathyroid cancer at the age of 45. The paper's obit writer, Jay Levin, wrote a tribute to him that's well worth reading. Why are we writing about an editor at a North Jersey newspaper passing away? Because the loss of any journalist at such a young age is a terrible thing. Check out the piece; it's worth it.