Virginia Heinlein, the widow of Robert Heinlein, passed away peacefully this morning. She had been hospitalized for many weeks with a broken hip. 

Ginny was the third wife of Robert Anson Heinlein, the "Dean of Science Fiction." Robert was and is one of the most popular science fiction writers of all time. The SFWA Grand Master Award was first created to honor him. He passed away in 1988. 

Virginia Doris Gerstenfeld married Robert on October 21, 1948. In an essay written by Robert the following year, he described her as an "organic chemist and bio-chemist by trade--and superlative kitchen chemist now that she is out of the lab. She is red headed and quite much of an athlete--four letters in college--and could probably lick me in a fair fight, but I never fight fair, so it doesn't matter. She outranks me on the Navy rolls, which seems to give her quite a bit of satisfaction." The Boston Globe reported that "she became the model for many of the red-haired and seemingly improbably talented women in Mr. Heinlein's stories." 

Following his death, Ginny lived in Florida where she managed the estate and literary legacy. Although somewhat reclusive, she was loved and respected in the science fiction community. 

In an announcement of her death on Usenet earlier today, David M. Silver, Secretary-Treasurer of The Heinlein Society, said that he is "deeply saddened. Mrs. Heinlein had the capacity of inspiring anyone she spoke to and brightening their lives."

Her obituary in the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/la-me-heinlein26jan26,0,2964861.story.

Photo by Robin Wayne Bailey, courtesy of MidAmerican Fan Photo Archive

Updated January 27, 2003