Wife of 'Family Circus' Creator Dies

PHOENIX (AP) - She was the inspiration for the Mommy character in the long-running "Family Circus" comic. Thelma Keane, the wife of the comic's creator, has died at age 82 of Alzheimer's disease.

Bil Keane began drawing the comic in 1960. It depicted the
good-humored life of two parents and their four children. It is now featured in about 1,500 newspapers.

Keane told The Associated Press that when the cartoon first
appeared, his wife looked so much like Mommy that if she was in the
supermarket pushing her cart around, people would come up to her
and say, "Aren't you the Mommy in 'Family Circus?"' And he said
she would admit it.

Keane said that although his wife is gone, she is still with
him.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)