Here's how one Australian paper began its obit for a beloved author: "Colleen McCullough, Australia's bestselling author, was a charmer. Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless a woman of wit and warmth. In one interview, she said: 'I've never been into clothes or figure and the interesting… » 1/30/15 11:10am 1/30/15 11:10am

Author Colleen McCullough has died at 77. Her multi-part "Masters of Rome" saga has been much praised, but it's The Thorn Birds she'll be remembered for. » 1/29/15 2:45pm 1/29/15 2:45pm

Amanda Palmer wrote a poem for Jonathan Chait. » 1/28/15 3:15pm 1/28/15 3:15pm

Bess Myerson, public servant, presidential advisor, and the first and only Jewish Miss America, died on December 14th at the age of 90. The New York Times released an obituary Monday, reigniting public interest in a woman who lived loudly despite the traps of disadvantage—economic, religious, gender—that sought to… » 1/06/15 1:45pm 1/06/15 1:45pm

Last week, the News Journal in Delaware ran an obituary on 70-year-old Johanna R. Scarpitti, the opening line of which read, "Ding dong the witch is dead." While at first glance it does seem a bit crude, but it was all Scarpitti's idea. » 8/11/14 11:30am 8/11/14 11:30am

Not only was Walter George Bruhl Jr. likely a lovely person, he was the kind of person that surrounded himself with people who have great senses of humor – plus he knew how to write a good obit. » 3/12/14 12:20pm 3/12/14 12:20pm

Earlier this evening, the United Farmworkers of America announced that Jessie Lopez De La Cruz, one of the most important women in the farmworkers movement, died in her Kingsburg, Calif. home on, of all the days Fate could choose at the roulette table, Labor Day. She was 93. » 9/05/13 9:40pm 9/05/13 9:40pm

Hey, did any notable women die this year? Eh, not that many, according to our major national newspapers, most of which release lists of significant deaths every year. Countless women (sorry, we can't tell you who, since we don't know who they are) are rolling in their graves thanks to Mother Jones' in-depth look at… » 12/12/12 2:10pm 12/12/12 2:10pm

"She is from New York. She is Jewish. She is a woman," wrote one of the graduate programs to which Rosalyn Yalow applied. Their loss: She went on to become the second woman to win a Nobel prize in medicine. » 6/02/11 3:05pm 6/02/11 3:05pm

According to a report by Jeff Zeleny at the New York Times, the first major female vice presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro, passed away today at the age of 75 due to complications from blood cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital. » 3/26/11 1:19pm 3/26/11 1:19pm

Singer Debbie Friedman died Sunday of complications of pneumonia, but her progressive, feminist influence on Jewish folk music will live on. » 1/12/11 1:30pm 1/12/11 1:30pm

Dr. Louise Reiss masterminded the Baby Tooth Survey, which proved that radioactive fallout had entered Americans' teeth, and led to an international ban on atmospheric nuclear testing. She died on New Year's Day at her Florida home. » 1/10/11 1:30pm 1/10/11 1:30pm

The author, artist, and last wife of Norman Mailer died of gastrointestinal cancer. Her memoir, published this year, detailed her affair with Bill Clinton and described how Mailer returned her first love poems marked up with corrections in red pencil. » 11/22/10 12:54pm 11/22/10 12:54pm

Still upset about that lack of gender equality in book reviews? Consider this more frightening and fundamental imbalance: so far in the month of August, the NYT has published 78 obituaries. And only six of them were for women. » 8/30/10 6:06pm 8/30/10 6:06pm

Singer and actress Lena Horne, whose successful yet restricted career exemplified the racist climate of forties and fifties show business, died last night at the age of 92. » 5/10/10 9:30am 5/10/10 9:30am

Dorothy Provine, the "shapely" actress who starred in the film It's A Mad, Mad World and played the title roll as a notorious bank robber in The Bonnie Parker Story, died on Sunday at the age of 75. [NYT] » 4/30/10 11:40am 4/30/10 11:40am

CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth, 59, died on Sunday after years of fighting cancer. Moth, who changed her name to "have her own" and survived sniper fire in Sarajevo, was famous among colleagues for her fearlessness and her flair. [WaPo, CNN] » 3/22/10 10:20am 3/22/10 10:20am