Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has passed away in her sleep this morning at the age of 89. The author’s nephew and spokesman for the family Hank Conner has stated that “[w]e knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who touched her life, and a generous soul in our community and our state. We will miss her dearly.” Lee’s novel was a story about a small town lawyer named Atticus Finch who defends a black man named Tom Robinson who was on trial for false accusations of raping a white woman. The classic story is told from the point-of-view of Finch’s young daughter Scout who witnesses the racism of the 1930’s. Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961, and her novel has since been read by millions.
See Connor Sheets, Harper Lee dead at age of 89: ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author passes away, AL, February 19, 2016.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
