Emily M. DeArdo (1982–2023) was a Catholic writer and speaker who graduated in 2004 from Capital University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and English literature. She worked for the Ohio State Senate for ten years. At age eleven, DeArdo was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease, and received a double-lung transplant at age twenty-three.
She contributed to several studies published by Take Up & Read in 2018 and 2019 and also self-published an eBook, Catholic 101. DeArdo was also a guest on The Jennifer Fulwiler Show on SiriusXM Radio. She was named Young Catholic Woman of the Year by the Diocese of Columbus in 2005. She was a contestant on Jeopardy! in 2016.
DeArdo was a Third Order Lay Dominican who lived in the Columbus, Ohio, area. She passed away in 2023 at the age of forty-one.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
