Tony Hillerman
| Tony Hillerman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Anthony Grove Hillerman May 27, 1925 Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, United States |
| Died | October 26, 2008 (aged 83) Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist, educator |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Marie Unzner |
| Children | 6 |
Anthony Grove "Tony" Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels. Several of his works have been adapted as big-screen and television movies.
Tony Hillerman was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma to August Alfred Hillerman, a farmer and shopkeeper, and his wife, Lucy Grove. He was the youngest of their three children, and the second son. His paternal grandparents were born in Germany, and his maternal grandparents were born in England. He grew up in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, attending elementary and high school with Potawatomie children.
He was a decorated combat veteran of World War II, serving from August 1943 to October 1945. He served as a mortar-man in the 103rd Infantry Division. He earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. He attended the University of Oklahoma after the war, meeting Marie Unzner, a student in microbiology. The couple wed and have one biological child and five adopted children.
From 1948–62, he worked as a journalist, moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1952. In 1966, he moved his family to Albuquerque, where he earned a master's degree from the University of New Mexico. It was during his time as a writer for the Borger News-Herald in Borger, Texas that he became acquainted with the sheriff of Hutchinson County, the man upon whom he would pattern the main character in his Joe Leaphorn novels. He taught journalism from 1966 to 1987 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and also began writing novels. He lived there with his wife Marie until his death in 2008. At the time of his death, they had been married 60 years and had ten grandchildren.
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