The original “Dear Abby,” who wrote under the pen name Abigail Van Buren for her popular column, passed away at age 94 in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. Offering commonsense advice for readers for 40 years, Phillips made her debut writing for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1956.
In 2002, Phillips’ family announced she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, the same year her identical twin sister, who also wrote an advice column, as Ann Landers, died.
A year after its debut, “Dear Abby” was declared the “fastest-rising star in the field of journalism,” by Time magazine. There was a rift in the sisters’ relationship due to their rival columns.
Time says “Dear Abby” is the world’s most widely syndicated column, appearing in more than 1,400 newspapers and generating as many as 10,000 letters a week.
Read what her fans had to say on Twitter.
