Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman, author, gentleman, and friend, has died today. Tony loved to tell stories. He particularly liked to tell stories of the Navajo people and their legends and customs. He managed to tell exciting mystery stories and yet always treated them with the respect they deserved. His detective was Joe Leaphorn, and he knew the ways of his people and could always work out who had done the crime.

I met Tony when he had survived a heart attack, as I had, and we were walking daily at Presbyterian Hospital's exercise center. We enjoyed walking the track and found that we enjoyed visiting with each other. We agreed not to talk about my school business or his writing business. In spite of this choice, we managed to talk non-stop while getting in our daily walks. Tony and I enjoyed our recuperation time together. I continued to read every book that he wrote and shall miss his stories. Happy travels, Tony!