... just be yourself. You're an intelligent, compassionate, caring person, who can be an inspiration, if only by being there. Lead by example - do your job, and be human to your employees in the break room or wherever, while still showing them that you have a job to do. Don't be apologetic, because that will make people uncertain. When people don't know how to react or feel in times like this, they look to somebody else to try to figure out what to do. Death is a confusing situation. You, as a strong woman and a manager (from what I gather in your post), are someone who can make people be certain, by being confident, and letting people know that you've thought about how this affects you, but still acknowledge that you have a job to do. People will understand that; your employee who has passed on would understand that. People have to do something; they can't just dwell on it. If they're at work, they should do their jobs, if only to take them away from dwelling on something sad that they can't do anything about.

I, for one, firmly believe in you. You've been a strong, shining inspiration to many people that I've known in my time here, and there's no reason that should stop now.

Cory