Dear Abby's ties to Wisconsin - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

EAU CLAIRE (WKOW) -- The advice columnist 'Dear Abby' died this week in Minneapolis, not far from where she spent more than a decade of her life when she was first married.

Pauline Friedman Phillips, Dear Abby, lived in Eau Claire from 1944 to 1955, marrying a member of the Phillips family, which owned Presto Industries there. 

"She was raised in the Midwest. Those Midwestern values seem to appeal to people no matter where in the country and even internationally. She actually wrote to them or called them on the phone sometimes personally to address their issues," said UW-Stout psychology professor Helen Swanson.

Pauline suffered from Alzheimer's disease later in life and handed over control of the Dear Abby column to her daughter in 2002.