The end of October brought sudden and tragic news to the journaling community: renown escribitionist and preeminent graphic designer Gingko took her own life Sunday night after a long battle with mental illness.

Close friend Heidi Hodge-McMurdo shared her loss in her journal, and the news quickly spread to all corners of the web.

Gingko, whose real name was Eve, was 29 and lived in Wisconsin with her husband Mark. He posted a heartfelt and grateful tribute to her earlier this week on her site, titled "In Memory of Eve." Many fellow long-time diarists also lamented her passing, including Al Schroeder, Amanda Page, Dreama, Renee, and Willa.

Gingko was a singular force in the journaling community in its formative days. Over three years ago, she founded the lavishly visual Mandelbrot Set journal webring, and helped launch the Journals mailing list, known for its surprisingly topical discussions.

Gingko additionally contributed designs and graphics to countless sites, and shared her expertise through tutorials and webzine articles. Her journal site, Dreaming Among the Jade Clouds, was featured by sites as varied as USA Today, Netscape, Project Cool and About.Com. She was also twice named as a finalist for the diarist Legacy Award.