Tony Hillerman dies at 83

Tony Hillerman, author of the acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels and creator of two of the unlikeliest of literary heroes - Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee - died Sunday of pulmonary failure. He was 83.

In an article from The Associated Press Hillerman's daughter, Anne Hillerman, said her father's health had been declining in the last couple years and that he was at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque when he died at about 3 p.m.

Hillerman's commercial breakthrough was "Skinwalkers," published in 1987 - the first time he put Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee and their divergent world views in the same book. It sold 430,000 hardcover copies, paving the way for "A Thief of Time," which made several best seller lists. In all, he wrote 18 books in the Navajo series, the most recent titled "The Shape Shifter."

Born May 27, 1925, in Sacred Heart, Okla., population 50, Tony Hillerman was the son of August and Lucy Grove Hillerman. They were farmers who also ran a small store. It was there that young Tony listened spellbound to locals who gathered to tell their stories.

Some criticized Hillerman for exploiting the Navajo for profit - but the Navajo Tribal Council eventually honored him as a Special Friend, an honor he described as more important than any of his literary awards.

Hillerman is survived by his wife, Marie, and their six children. Services are pending.