Dear Abby Creator Has Alzheimer’s Disease
From Times Wire Reports
MISSOURI
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Pauline Phillips, the creator of the Dear Abby advice column, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, family members say.
Phillips, 84, began writing the column after her twin sister, Esther Lederer, started writing a similar one for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1955. Lederer, who wrote as Ann Landers, died in June.
Phillips’ daughter, Jeanne, now writes Dear Abby. Pauline Phillips has not been involved in the column’s day-to-day business for a couple of years, said a spokeswoman for its distributor, Universal Press Syndicate.
