Pauline Esther Phillips (nee Friedman; July 4, 1918 - January 16, 2013) also known as Abigail Van Buren who began the "Dear Abby" column in 1956. It became the most widely-syndicated newspaper column in the world, syndicated in hundreds of newspapers around the world with tens of millions of readers.
She was nicknamed "Popo" and was born in Sioux City, Iowa to Russian Jewish immigrants who became owners of a chain of movie theaters. She was the youngest of four sisters and grew up in Sioux City. One sister was an identical twin, Esther Pauline Friedman, who later became the columnist Ann Landers.
They are both alumnae of Central High School in Sioux City and Morningside College, where they both studied journalism and psychology, along with writing a joint gossip column for the college newspaper. They both played vioin. In 1939, they were married in a double-wedding ceremony on their birthday. She married Morton Phillips of Minneapolis, and had two children, a son Edward Jay Phillips, and a daughter, Jeanne Phillips.
She went by the pen name Abigail Van Buren, after the Old Testament prophetess from the Book of Samuel: "Then David said to Abigail . . . 'Blessed is your advice and blessed are you.'" "Van Buren" was used after the eighth president, Martin Van Buren, "because I liked the aristocratic, old-family ring."
She went by "Abby" in her personal and professional life. Phillips, who had battled Alzheimer's disease for years, died in Minneapolis, where she had lived since 2002. She died on January 16, 2013, at the age of 94 of natural causes. She is survived by her husband of 73 years, Morton Phillips, daughter, Jeanne Phillips, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her son, Edward, died in 2011 at the age of 66. She died last Wednesday afternoon and was buried Thursday in a small family ceremony.
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