Columbia resident Virginia Pausch said her son, Randolph "Randy" Pausch was "very generous, very gregarious, and loved to talk."

Randy Pausch, the Oakland Mills High School graduate who gained international attention for the life lessons he bestowed upon students in his last lecture given at Carnegie Mellon University, died July 25 of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

"Everything you've read was true," Virginia Pausch, 82, said about her son, adding that there was "no facade about him."

Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, delivered his last lecture, titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," on Sept. 18, 2007, a month after being told that he had three to six months to live after a relapse of pancreatic cancer.

During his lecture, Pausch discussed how he managed to achieve many of his dreams, such as engineering rides for Walt Disney World and experiencing zero gravity. He also shared his philosophy on living generously.

A video of Pausch's lecture became an Internet sensation, which led to Pausch appearing on national television, including the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and ABC's "Good Morning America."

A book version of Pausch's lecture, "The Last Lecture," which was co-written with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Zaslow, was published in April 2008.

During his illness, Pausch kept a blog that detailed his challenges and triumphs in his battle against pancreatic cancer. In his last entry June 26, he wrote about the toll of chemotherapy on his health.

Throughout his illness, Pausch was determined to maintain his bright outlook on life.

"I don't know how not to have fun," Pausch wrote in his book. "I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play it."

Fight with him to the end

Pausch grew up in Columbia and graduated from Oakland Mills High in 1978.

As a child, Pausch was an avid swimmer and football player, his mother said, adding that he also had a picky palate and an inquisitive mind.

"His mind was always working, and he had lots of questions, many of which we couldn't answer," said Virginia Pausch, a former English teacher at Howard High School who still lives in the family home in Columbia.

Lyle Buck, a minister at First Presbyterian Church of Howard County who has known the Pausch family since the early 1960s, said he remembers Pausch as one of his star Sunday school students.

"He was inquisitive, very bright, easy to talk to," Buck said. "... He was a delight."

Buck said he viewed Pausch's lecture online and bought several copies of his book for the church's library.

"I've been impressed with his outlook on life and on death," Buck said.

Virginia Pausch said her son had a fierce spirit and zest for life that was with him until she last saw him, a week before he died.

"The fight was with him to the end," she said.

In addition to his mother, Pausch is survived by his wife, Jai; three young children, Chloe, Dylan and Logan; and his older sister, Tamara Mason.

He was preceded in death by his father, Fred Pausch.

A private memorial service was held in Virginia last weekend.

The family requests that donations on Pausch's behalf be sent to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Roscrans Ave., Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245.

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