Author Tony Hillerman dead

[rdmtimp]

Source: Yahoo/AP

PHOENIX – Tony Hillerman, author of the acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels and creator of two of the unlikeliest of literary heroes — Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee — died Sunday of pulmonary failure. He was 83.

Hillerman's daughter, Anne Hillerman, said her father's health had been declining in the last couple years and that he was at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque when he died at about 3 p.m.

Hillerman lived through two heart attacks and surgeries for prostate and bladder cancer. He kept tapping at his keyboard even as his eyes began to dim, as his hearing faded, as rheumatoid arthritis turned his hands into claws.

"I'm getting old," he declared in 2002, "but I still like to write."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081027/ap_on_re_us/obit_tony_hillerman;_ylt=AqPwLYBcAWPTlnJeyXBcXY6s0NUE

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RIP

[aquart]

1. A good and worthy life. RIP, writer.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. What sad news...

RIP, Tony...

You will be missed...

[Drunken Irishman]

3. My grandfather turned me onto his books.

This is very sad. I loved reading his stories as a kid.

The last book I read of his was loosely based on a true story about some fugitives in So. Utah. :(

[emilyg]

4. Love his books. RIP

[puerco-bellies]

5. RIP Mr. Hillerman

His books were the only mystery series outside of Conan Doyle's that I liked. I believe I have read at least 6 of the Chee Leaphorn books.

[davidinalameda]

6. oh wow

that's a shame

I really like his writing

[ClayZ]

7. Rest in PEACE, Storyteller!

I just found one of his books, that I had not read, at a rummage sale.

I liked his stories!

K and R

[Hekate]

8. I'm so sorry. I loved the world he created with his books, and tried to read them all.

Sleep sweetly in the Earth, where all wounds are healed. Thank you Mr. Hillerman, for the many hours of enjoyment you gave.

Hekate

Edited to add link to a nice obit in the Santa Fe New Mexican
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/N-M--author-Hillerman-dies-at-83

[dweller]

9. may he rest in beauty

sad to see the end of one of my favorite authors, as well as the characters he created.

dp

[Raksha]

10. That is so sad. I didn't realize he was that old.

I really loved his books...they are probably my favorite mysteries ever.

[HopeFor2006]

11. Sad news indeed

[Shardik]

12. A loss to the world.

We'll miss you, Tony. Loved your stories.

[Born Free]

13. I will miss Tony's books and especially Chee and Bernie

I thought they were about to get married in one of the later books I read, she decided it was OK to live in the trailer. I liked them, it's a shame to see them all go. Tony's books were not exciting like the Dan Brown books but I liked the characters, much like I like the "Odd Thomas" series by Dean Koontz because I like the main character. At times Tony made you want to be Navajo.

[Are_grits_groceries]

14. I will miss him!

He wrote great mysteries that were a window into another culture.

I felt like he and his characters were friends. Vaya con Dios!

[Patiod]

25. "Window into another culture"

Good way of putting it, Grits.

And his characters did feel like friends - fully rounded people.

[Peace Patriot]

15. One of the finest writers of our era! Absolutely topnotch!

Thank you, Spirit of Tony! What incredible pleasure you have given me! What a revelation your works have been! Go away now, in peace, and leave the living alone, to walk their own path! You have done your part to help us see the dark. Begone now, brilliant one! Be gently gone.

:grouphug:

[asjr]

16. He was one of the best.

[Delphinus]

17. Rest in peace, Tony.

I marveled at his ability to draw me into an area that I knew nothing about. He will be missed.

[bklyncowgirl]

18. Very sad, I've always waited eagerly for his books.

He brings to life a place and a culture that many of us would not have gotten to know otherwise.

[Demeter]

19. His Characters and the Insight into Life in the 4 Corners Were the Best

[scarletwoman]

20. Very sad news. I so loved his books, always anxiously waited for his latest, always thrilled

to find one I hadn't read yet.

Wishing him a good journey. :cry:

sw

[Wetzelbill]

21. RIP, Tony nt

[eowyn_of_rohan]

22. Peaceful journey, Tony

He brought us together through his stories, and for that, made the world a better place.

There is no death. . .
Only a change of worlds. . .
Only a change of worlds. . .

[rosesaylavee]

23. RIP Tony.

Thank you for the many many hours of pleasure you gave me reading your work.

[RobertDevereaux]

24. A wonderful writer...

He'll be missed indeed.

[connecticut yankee]

26. Such a loss

I've read all the Leaphorn/Chee books at least twice; some of them three times.

After a trip to New Mexico and Arizona five years ago, I became fascinated with the area and started reading them. They taught me so much about the Navajo history and culture, as well as the countryside.

In fact, last year I took an Elderhostel course about his writings to learn even more.

I will miss him dearly.

Rest in peace, Tony.

[marshall]

27. He taught me that Indians do not want to be called Native Americans

He said they consider it a term thrust on them by whites. They prefer to be called by their tribe names or if you don't know that they prefer being called Indians.

I saw him at a conference in Albuquerque a few years ago. He was a very interesting speaker.

[AmyCamus]

28. Nizho'ni'go' nanina, Tony

A good man.

[BEZERKO]

29. I got him confused with the guy from Magnum PI

John Hillerman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hillerman

[Bluenorthwest]

30. Peace to Mr HIllerman

Those are some good books, some living characters and places.

[Jackpine Radical]

31. How sad. He was a man of great spirit.

I think I read all of his books. He was a great liberal soul; my world is a bit emptier without him.

[classof56]

32. I'm so sad to hear this.

Not many reports about someone leaving this earth bring me to tears--but this is definitely one. I have read all his Jim Chee--Joe Leaphorn books, most of them twice or three times, and his other books as well. I heard that he and his brother, a photographer, produced a book awhile back about the Arizona-New Mexico area that Tony captured so beautifully in his writings.

He led a good and valuable life, as recounted in his autobiography "Seldom Disappointed." Rest in peace, Tony. You have left your mark on this world and your words will always live on.

[NC_Nurse]

33. RIP, Tony. You will be missed greatly by us. My husband and I read all of your books.

:cry:

My condolences to his family as well. What a full life he had. :patriot:

[PatrynXX]

34. shoot

good movies. mom loves the series but not all of the dvd's remain in print. only have A Thief of Time

[Richard D]

35. RIP

Tony was one of my favorite authors. He will be very missed.
Leaphorn and Chee will live forever.
Thank you, Mr. Hillerman for all the stories.

[hedgehog]

36. Storytellers are a blessing to us all.

[dhpgetsit]

37. What a loss.

I have read most of his books. Thay are always interesting and hard to put down.

Thank you Tony Hillerman. Rest in peace.

[helderheid]

38. R.I.P. - I so enjoy his writing.

[Flaxbee]

39. Sad news. I had no idea he was in his 80s ---

Good writers seem (are?) immortal, I guess.

Rest in peace, Tony Hillerman. You will be missed. I was wondering when his next book was going to come out... Sigh.

[Jakes Progress]

40. We own every one of his books.

Go peacefully to a well deserved rest.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

41. What sad news

For those of you who don't know Tony Hillerman's work, I suggest starting with his first Native American mystery, Dance Hall of the Dead. It has one of those endings that make you think, "I don't believe he did that."

[RhodaGrits]

42. I didn't know him but...

when a great storyteller dies, I am sad that I've lost all connection to his or her characters. I was feeling sad about the imminent loss of Opus yesterday and now I feel like I've also lost Joe Leaphorn and crew as well. Odd how with all the terrible losses in the world, one's mind can mourn the loss of fictional relationships. My dog died unexpectedly last week and it may be that I'm just feeling all these things through a veil of grief but I am going to miss Leaphorn and Chee.

[tigereye]

43. what great books!

How sad for his family and that there won't be anymore Chee and Leaphorn sagas... :cry:

[duhneece]

44. He questioned the War on Drugs

I loved his books, his smarts. A good man...I especially liked his questioning of the whole War on Drugs.
"Sinister Pig is the latest of Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn-Chee mysteries. This one involves a murder in Chee's jurisdiction on the Navajo Reservation and some suspicious activity discovered by Bernie, Chee's former subordinate now with the Border Patrol. Leaphorn, though retired, is called upon for help as bad forces advance their scheme. This is one of Hillerman's better written books. Always a fan of law enforcement bureaucracy, he has some fun with the final arrest which results in at least a six way squabble over credit for the bust. Hillerman's questioning the motives for the War on Drugs is another theme here. The Sinister Pig smuggles drugs over the border with Mexico. Powerful men in Washington are behind the drug running. The result is another satisfying Hillerman yarn. -Ed Gregory"
http://www.bookloftsolvang.com/staff2003.htm

[Born Free]

50. I think The Skelton Man came after Sinister Pig,

and may be the one I referred to earlier where Bernie decided it was OK to marry and live in Chee's trailer - I found myself smiling in approval. I really admire young people that can fall in love and be happy with few luxuries. The latest book may be The Shape Shifters but I don't think that I read that one , I lose track of the books I read. I will miss all of Tony's characters, maybe some day they will do a good movie about Leaphorn, Chee and Bernie.

[roguevalley]

45. He walks in beauty, now as ever. I will miss him so much, he gave me and my

mom such pleasure with his peak into a life that I could never find out about any other way. Rest in peace, Tony, and thank you for the pleasure of your company.

[Melissa G]

46. One of my favorite authors. Read most every major book he wrote.

Rest In Peace.

[salin]

48. I loved his characters

and his novels. RIP. Peace and comfort to his loved ones.

[LWolf]

47. .

I will miss Leaphorn and Chee.

May he rest in beauty.

[Hawkowl]

49. Outstanding individual

I love his books. I had never been a big fan of mysteries until Mr. Hillerman's absolutely wonderful world and characters.