Death always leaves a gaping wound. But when 26-year-old journalist Bre Payton suddenly passed away last week, it felt as if a chasm opened up in the lives of thousands. On December 26, Payton was a guest host for Liz Wheeler’s OANN show, “Tipping Point.” The next morning, a friend found Payton lying unconscious, barely breathing and called 911. At the hospital, Payton was diagnosed with the H1N1 influenza virus. She died just a day later.
The Federalist readers who followed her journalism, Fox News viewers who enjoyed her commentary, and podcast listeners who tuned into The Federalist Radio Hour and the Problematic Women podcast are all mourning Payton’s departure.
But for family members, friends, coworkers, and Payton’s boyfriend, Ryan Colby, who was planning to propose, the shock and pain of her loss will be felt forever.
Everyone who watched Payton on television or read her stories could easily see her elegance and sparkle, her tenacity and zest for life. But out of the public eye, Bre was also a woman of quiet kindness, dogged determination, and devout faith. She undermined every stereotype of her generation. While she once joked that she was “basic and proud,” there was nothing basic about her.
I first met Bre six years ago, when we were both journalism majors at Patrick Henry College. Shortly after I graduated from college and started working in Washington, D.C., Bre took up an internship for Watchdog.org. We met for coffee one day, near the end of her internship, and talked about her experience and hopes for the future. I was astonished by the amount she had accomplished over the course of one summer. Her investigative reporting had already been picked up by the Washington Post, Daily Caller, Associated Press, and several other major publications.
Payton’s friends and roommates loved to brag about her diligence and determination. Despite the busyness of classes, papers, and exams, as well as time spent enjoying game nights and impromptu dance parties with friends, she kept writing for Watchdog.org. By the time she graduated, Payton had already spent two years racking up bylines and proving her mettle through tireless investigating, interviewing, and reporting.
Payton was hired straight out of college by the Federalist in 2015, and demonstrated a deep loyalty and love for her publication and coworkers from her first day until her last. Over her three and a half years at The Federalist, Payton wrote thousands of articles, covering every subject imaginable. She fought for the homeless in D.C.; advocated for unborn babies with Down Syndrome; attentively covered the Sen. Menendez corruption trial; offered commentary on the Kardashians, “The Bachelorette,” and First Lady Melania Trump. When I was an associate managing editor with the Federalist, Bre was always volunteering to report on current events, do radio and television appearances, and help with editorial work. If something urgent needed doing, she was on it within minutes.
Payton was also a woman of steadfast devotion to her faith. She regularly attended Washington, D.C.’s Immaculate Conception Church with her boyfriend, Colby, and would go to Mass in the middle of the week despite her busy schedule. In the D.C. apartment she shared with friends, roommates regularly talked about their faith and shared prayer requests with each other.
I last saw Bre Payton in early November, at a prayer meeting with other women journalists from the D.C. region. As we talked afterwards, Bre told me she was going to visit a mutual acquaintance. It was only after her death that I found out Bre was visiting because this friend had just had surgery. Bre arrived at her door with a beautiful bouquet of red roses.
It reminded me of the time Bre emailed me and told me she would love to babysit for me if ever I might need help. When my husband deployed overseas a couple years ago, I took her up on it — so she rode the metro to Alexandria and spent time with my little girl, taking her on walks and reading her books.
This was Bre, intentional, thoughtful, and sweet. The impressive list of professional achievements garnered over her short career is worth celebrating in its own right. One can only imagine what she might have accomplished, had her time here on earth lasted longer. But these pale in comparison to Bre’s countless acts of service and selflessness. Despite her professional dedication, she never failed to devote time and energy to those she loved, in ways seen and unseen.
To say Bre will be missed is insufficient. She loved too many too well for her loss to be anything but heartbreaking. But she believed in a redeeming Savior and in a life eternal. Thus, we can say with hopeful joy that this is not the end, only a momentary parting. “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
