After a battle with leukemia, animation writer and blogger Emru Townsend has passed away. A post from his sister Tamu on www.healemru.com said he died peacefully surrounded by family Tuesday night.

Townsend was diagnosed less than a year ago with leukemia, and a condition called monosomy 7. He turned from writing about technology, animation and pop culture to his fight with the disease. While needing a bone marrow transplant himself, Townsend worked to raise awareness about the need for donors, especially in minority groups.

"He taught me how to live. He taught me how you are supposed to die" Tamu wrote. "Emru's name means RESPECT. Emru, the person, also means compassion, learning, teaching, sharing, love, integrity, honesty, and inspiration. He taught a lot of people a lot of things, but he spent 2008 teaching people how to reach out to one another in a whole new way. If you carry some of this forward, it will be a year even better spent."