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| Leila Meacham | |
Leila Meacham, a writer and former teacher who "didn't find success as a novelist until late in life, but her writing uplifted many in her final days as she detailed her fight with pancreatic cancer on social media," died September 19, the San Antonio Express-News reported. She was 83.
Meacham wrote a series of historical romances "that captivated audiences nationwide," the Express-News noted. Roses, a New York Times bestseller, was published in 2010, when she was 70, but she felt her second book represented her best work, according to her husband, Dick Meacham: "If you asked her, I think her favorite was Tumbleweeds." Her other books include Somerset, a prequel to Roses, Titans, Ryan's Hand, Crowning Design, Aly's House and her most recent work, Dragonfly.
Meacham's "passion for writing and reading initially took the form of a career in education," the Express-News wrote, adding that between the 1960s and the 1990s, she taught English at schools in multiple states, including Judson High School and Kitty Hawk Middle School in Texas.
She was working on a ninth book, tentatively titled April Storm, when she was diagnosed with her disease in August 2019. Her husband said she had nearly finished the novel when she passed away.
In one of her last Facebook posts, Meacham wrote about resuming chemotherapy after a fall: "Alas, alas. Surely there is a divine plan behind this, a reason to smile again. Regardless of mine, you all keep smiling, hold on to the faith, and prayer my stamina and strength."