Legendary columnist passes away
By: Nikki Henderson
Updated: January 17, 2013
MSNBC is reporting that Pauline Phillips, the original Dear Abby advice columnist, died Wednesday after a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
Phillips wrote the most widely syndicated column in the world published in more than 1,200 newspapers and read by nearly 9 million people daily.
In 1956, the 37-year-old housewife became a journalist, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle and, soon after, for newspapers across the country. Phillips gave advice to men and women alike, championing equal rights for women, minorities, mentally ill individuals and those suffering from disease in her column.
Phillips' daughter Jeanne continues to write the column today, carrying on her mother's legacy under the pen name Abigail Van Buren.
Phillips was 94 years old.
