Rehnquist

I know actually very little about Rehnquist and nothing about him as a person, and so it is hard for me to truly mourn his death and therefore this is not a eulogy or a tribute as I'm sure he deserves. I suppose it's more of a continuation from the last post, although a bit more reflective.
When I heard of Rehnquist's death this morning, I reacted the same way that I'm sure a lot of other people did- a short, reverential silence that death merits, and then on to discussing who will replace him, how this will affect Roberts, how long this was expected, what this will do to the nature of the bench, and then some tangents about the nature of Chief Justice-hood as opposed to being a regular Justice. Afterwards, I felt... not quite guilty, but a bit cheap, because I had somehow lapsed into viewing this person as a Justice and not a person. He had family, and a life, and a personality in a manner that is hard to remember when you view a public figure as...a figure, a hieroglyph, symbol, or perhaps just an animated character that runs across the screen.
So this post is not about the person Rehnquist- I know absolutely nothing about him- but it is a tribute to the fact that Rehnquist too was a person, who must not only be replaced, but also mourned.