# Virginia Heinlein dies. :( **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576 "2003-01-19T02:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/1 "2003-01-19T02:57:29Z")
I heard from **Akatsukami** that he’d gotten a notice that Virginia Heinlein had died. We both did some research and confirmed it. On rec.arts.sf.written, David Silver posted the following message: (since he cross-posted to a half-dozen appropriate newsgroups and it’s a public announcement, I’m sure it’s ok to reprint here) > [@](#): > > I deeply regret the necessity to post this. > > This morning I received the following e-mail from a close friend of Mrs. Virginia Heinlein, widow of author Robert Anson Heinlein: > > “I’m sorry to tell you that Ginny passed away this morning. She slipped away peacefully in her sleep. I don’t know any details beyond that.” > > There will probably be other notices, announcements, details, > arrangements; but I thought you’d need to know this. > > I am deeply saddened. Mrs. Heinlein had the capacity of inspiring anyone she spoke to and brightening their lives. Mrs. Heinlein had been hospitalized since Thanksgiving following an accident in which she broke her hip. At her wishes, no publicity or mention of this was made by those of us who knew of it. > > The friend from whom I received the e-mail had been visiting Mrs. > Heinlein at the hospital daily. > > David M. Silver > Secretary-Treasurer > The Heinlein Society :: sigh :: I never met her, sadly, but I’ve only heard good things about her and somehow her death seems the end of an era. ☹ I’m going to go read “The Man Who Travelled in Elephants”. I can’t think of a more appropriate choice of reading material to remember Robert and Ginny Heinlein by. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/2 "2003-01-19T03:25:47Z")
Damn, damn, damn. She was supposedly working on a biography of Robert. Anyone know if that’s true or how far along in it she was in writing it? It’s more than the end of an era. Gonna have to dig up some Heinlein and start reading it again. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/3 "2003-01-19T03:29:23Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m going to go read “The Man Who Travelled in Elephants”. I can’t think of a more appropriate choice of reading material to remember Robert and Ginny Heinlein by. Another good choice would be _Tramp Royale_, a travelogue that Robert Heinlein wrote about a trip he and Ginny took around the world. Since it was published after RAH’s death, Ginny wrote the foreword. It’s a fun read. Who wouldn’t want to travel around the world with the Heinleins? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/4 "2003-01-19T04:17:42Z")
☹ What charities did she support? Where do I send a contribution in her name? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/5 "2003-01-19T05:05:33Z")
**Czar** : I dunno. I _do_ know that Robert and Ginny were big fans of (and, I assume) supported The National Rare Blood Club, (The National Rare Blood Club is also the group that probably saved Heinlein’s life in the early '70s.) It’s mentioned in **I Will Fear No Evil** and **Expanded Universe** , iirc. I did some searching and I _think_ that [these folks](http://www.nypythian.com/ahf/html2/history.htm) is the same National Rare Blood Club. The page I linked to explains how to go about donating money. In addition The Heinlein Society (who wrote the post quoted in the OP) has a [blood drive](http://www.heinleinsociety.org/blooddrive.html) every year on Heinlein’s birthday (July 7). Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/6 "2003-01-19T07:09:57Z")
Man… This just feels weird. I’m deeply saddened by the loss of a woman who I’ve never actually met in person. Tomorrow night I’ll hoist a glass, and Ima dig up Podkayne somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![hampster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/53a042/32.png) [@hampster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hampster)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/7 "2003-01-19T07:57:00Z")
She always felt like a lady who you knew, had a drink with. ☹ Hit the UBSs monday. Thea’s will have something good in memoriam. Grand Lady. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/8 "2003-01-19T20:31:11Z")
It was bad week for SF figures named Virginia. Virginia Kidd also died. Kidd is probably not very well known to the general public (though she had a few stories published), but her influence behind the scenes was immense. She was one of the field’s first major agents, representing Ursula K. LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey, Gene Wolfe, R.A. Lafferty, Alan Dean Foster, James Tiptree, Jr., and many others (see [http://www.sfwa.org/news/kidd.htm](http://www.sfwa.org/news/kidd.htm) for an obit). ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/9 "2003-01-19T21:12:52Z")
Whatever happened to RAH’s first wife? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/10 "2003-01-19T21:27:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Whatever happened to RAH’s first wife? \*\* IIRC, she evidently was an exceedingly unpleasant woman and RAH divorced her. Ginny’s obit on the [SFWA](http://www.sfwa.org/News/vheinlein.htm) site state’s that Ginney was RAH’s 3rd wife. Whatever happened to the second wife? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/11 "2003-01-19T22:14:31Z")
I think the “third wife” thing’s a typo: **Polycarp** knows more about Heinlein’s personal stuff than me, so maybe he can correct me, but as far as I know, he married Leslyn MacDonald in '32, divorced her towards the end of 1947 and married Ginny in '48. That’s not a lot of time to squeeze in another marriage. And I hadn’t heard that Leslyn was unpleasant (I’m not saying **Tuckerfan** ’s wrong, just that I hadn’t heard it), but I haven’t heard/read much about Leslyn: people don’t seem to talk about her much. There’s a brief timeline of Heinlein’s life [here](http://www.heliweb.de/herbsev/heintime.htm), for those interested. According to that site, Heinlein divorced Leslyn in “late '47” and according to the SFWA obit, married Ginny in Oct, '48. I can’t imagine that Heinlein would get divorced and remarried twice in less than a year. 🙂 Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/12 "2003-01-19T23:09:20Z")
The word on the net is that Leslyn was/is an alcoholic and schizophrenic. Also from :[http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=21&q=http://members.iglou.com/jtmajor/RAHARC.htm&e=747](http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=21&q=http://members.iglou.com/jtmajor/RAHARC.htm&e=747) > [@](#): > > his alleged first marriage, simply aren’t known of in any detail. (When Heinlein married Leslyn MacDonald on March 28, 1932 [see p. 32], he gave his marital status on the marriage certificate as “divorced”.) I’ve been unable to find any info on Leslyn’s eventual fate. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/13 "2003-01-19T23:19:22Z")
There is speculation on the net that RAH’s first marriage was during his Naval Cadet days at Annapolis. Any Maryland Dopers wanna go digging? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/14 "2003-01-20T02:05:54Z")
**Fenris** my source for RAH’s first wife being unpleasant is **Requiem** , IIRC. Anybody know how old Ginny was? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/15 "2003-01-20T04:01:41Z")
**Fenris** has the straight scoop, to the best of my knowledge. The account of David Lamb in _Time Enough For Love_, which is known to have some autobiographical elements, includes a while-at-USNA marriage that may or may not have had any relevance to Heinlein’s own life. Until tonight I had heard nothing about a wife before Leslyn. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/16 "2003-01-20T06:43:32Z")
Damn, indeed. It was obvious to any fan that theirs was one of the really solid marriages. I’m thinking of the poem R.A.H. wrote about her ice skating, and their mutual love of cats. I can’t think of a better choice, **Fenris** , than _The Man Who Traveled in Elephants_. I can recall as a teenager reading it to my girlfriend at the beach, tears streaming down my face. I firmly believe that it was colored by the flavor of their relationship. And, though YMMV, it comforts me some to think of them together again, somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/17 "2003-01-22T23:57:08Z")
Wish I seen these post last year as I would have like to compete in Ghoul Pool. I do know they actually have a real-life (as opposed to virtual) ghoul pool in St Louis where they actually wager dollars on this morbid topic. Anyways, I can’t believe more people didn’t choose Tommy Lee. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-heinlein-dies/149576/18 "2003-01-23T00:47:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by notfrommensa \* > \*\*Wish I seen these post last year as I would have like to compete in Ghoul Pool. > > I do know they actually have a real-life (as opposed to virtual) ghoul pool in St Louis where they actually wager dollars on this morbid topic. > > Anyways, I can’t believe more people didn’t choose Tommy Lee. \*\* Thank you for participating and living up to your name. 😃