Stan Lee’s wife Joan has passed away at age 95. Her death comes following a stroke and a hospitalization earlier in the week according to sources speaking with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I can confirm the sad news that Joan Lee passed away this morning quietly and surrounded by her family,” reads a statement provided by a spokesperson for the family. “The family ask that you please give them time to grieve and respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Joan Clayton Boocock married Lee on December 5, 1947 and the pair had been together ever since. She is survived by her husband Stan and their daughter Joan Celia. The couple had another child, but their baby passed away shortly after birth.
Stan Lee recalled meeting Joan in a 2016 THR interview.
“When I was young, there was one girl I drew; one body and face and hair. It was my idea of what a girl should be. The perfect woman. And when I got out of the Army, somebody, a cousin of mine, knew a model, a hat model at a place called Laden Hats. He said, ‘Stan, there’s this really pretty girl named Betty. I think you’d like her. She might like you. Why don’t you go over and ask her to lunch.’ Blah, blah, blah.
“So I went up to this place. Betty didn’t answer the door. But Joan answered, and she was the head model. I took one look at her — and she was the girl I had been drawing all my life. And then I heard the English accent. And I’m a nut for English accents! She said, ‘May I help you?’ And I took a look at her, and I think I said something crazy like, ‘I love you.’ I don’t remember exactly. But anyway, I took her to lunch. I never met Betty, the other girl. I think I proposed to [Joan] at lunch.”
This December would have marked the couple’s 70th wedding anniversary.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
