Nation Hahn: The world is still 'essentially good'

A day after his wife Jamie Kirk Hahn's killer was sentenced to life in prison, her husband, Nation Hahn, says he's chosen "the difficult path of optimism and hope" as he works to carry on her legacy, and he wants others to do the same.

Posted 8:35 p.m. Mar 20, 2015 — Updated 10:47 p.m. Mar 20, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. — A day after his wife's killer was sentenced to life in prison, Nation Hahn says he's chosen "the difficult path of optimism and hope" as he works to carry on her legacy, and he wants others to do the same.

"The most surprising, and uplifting, lesson of the past two years has actually been that the world is still essentially good," Hahn wrote Friday in a blog post, in which he talked about the love and kindness he and his family have received in the wake of Jamie Kirk Hahn's death.

The 29-year-old died April 24, 2013, two days after Jonathan Broyhill – a man the couple considered to be a close friend – stabbed them both in their north Raleigh home. A Wake County jury deliberated for less than 90 minutes Wednesday before finding him guilty of first-degree murder as well as charges related to Nation Hahn's attempted murder.

"To know Jamie was to love her. She was a kind and decent person," Nation Hahn, 28, wrote in the post. "She was someone who understood that we have an obligation to help those in need, a person who believed deeply that everyone that we are connected to is our family. She was a caregiver by nature who loved deeply."

Jamie Hahn was well known in local circles for her work as a political strategist, a fundraiser for various charitable causes and for her passion for helping others in the community.

At the time of her death, for example, she had been working to set up a nonprofit to help feed children who receive free lunches at school when they are not in class.

"One of the ways to compound the tragedy of losing Jamie would be for people to not carry that spirit forward," Nation Hahn wrote. "I believe deeply that as long as Jamie remains in the hearts of others she isn’t gone. I believe that as long as we work to carry forward her values, her issues and her impact that she is with us still."

Nation Hahn founded the Jamie Kirk Hahn Foundation in October 2013 to honor his wife's passion for community service.

The nonprofit trains community leaders in the areas of hunger, poverty and education. Starting with a group of Jamie Hahn's friends, it has grown over the past 18 months, attracting new volunteers who never met her but were inspired by her story.

"It's been amazing to see this amount of support come out after something so tragic," the foundation's executive director, Alexis Trost, said Friday.

The foundation holds events on the second Saturday of every month, and this year, it is starting a fellowship program to match young volunteers with community causes.

"Our vision is to really create a network of active, diverse, emerging leaders whom we then equip to do good in their community," Trost said. "Through that, we hope to build an army of Jamies – an army of those like Jamie who would do good work in their community."

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