As if we didn't have enough sad news coming at us these days, we've just heard that Susan Ellison, widow of Harlan Ellison, passed away in her sleep last night. We lost Harlan in June of 2018…and now this.
No one seems to know the cause of death for sure and I believe she was sixty years old. They married in 1986 so they had 32 years together before he died…and from what I could see, they were thirty-two very happy years.
She was the fifth Mrs. Harlan Ellison and at the time they wed, one of Harlan's closest friends half-jokingly staged a little pool — it cost a buck to participate — predicting how long this one would last. Everyone thought it would not be long and everyone was incorrect. They (we, actually) hadn't realized what an extraordinary lady Harlan had found this time — smart, gutsy, lovely, understanding, compassionate…whatever qualities it took to successfully merge her life into his, she had them.
I did not always get along with Harlan so I have a special admiration for someone like Susan who apparently did, or at least did to be with him that long. He would have been the first to tell you how difficult that was…and the first to tell you how amazing it was that Susan managed it. But everyone who met her loved her and sure understood why he did.