Susan Ellison, wife of Harlan Ellison, passed away in her sleep on Sunday, August 2, 2020. A cause of death has not been announced. She was believed to be in her early 60s.

Several members of the comics community have eulogized Ellison, often complimenting her positive affect on Harlan and her welcoming attitude toward friends and family.

“I first met Harlan Ellison in 1955 (Cleveland WorldCon). He was a friend of Mom’s, and someone who has a collection of his Dimensions fanzine will find one of her stories therein. As we all aged, he became a friend of mine, too,” Overstreet advisor and former Comics Buyer’s Guide editor Maggie Thompson wrote on Facebook.

She went on to write, “When we were chatting during my lovely 1994 visit to Ellison Wonderland, he speculated that, of all his many friends, I might have been his friend for the longest time. In any case, let me just say that everyone needs to realize that Susan was unique – someone Harlan always needed and was eventually lucky enough to find. But – wow – so was Susan. We were so lucky to have known her. And we’re all missing her already.”

In a Facebook post, artist-writer Ken Steacy wrote, “Her grace and equanimity was a wonder to behold, and their deep love endured for more than three decades. Farewell, sweet Susan…”

Writer Mark Evanier wrote about her in his blog, stating that “everyone who met her loved her and sure understood why [Harlan] did.”