Marvel fans have been preparing themselves for a day in the future when the 94 Stan Lee is no longer with us. However, today is an equally sad day, as Stan's wife of nearly 70 years has passed away. Joan Lee passed away on Thursday following hospitalization regarding a stroke. She was 93.
As the story goes, Stan Lee met Joan when he arrived at her home to take her roommate on a blind date. The date with the roommate never happened. Stan and Joan were married on December 5, 1947. As reported by Variety, the marriage took place in Reno following a six-week stay there so that Joan could obtain a divorce from a previous impulsive marriage. The two were married in the next room.
Needless to say, this marriage worked out. There's really nothing else that needs to be said about a marriage that lasted for 69 years. That's an incredible amount of time for two people to be together, even considering that both of them survived into the 90s. Of course, when somebody has been part of your life for that long, it makes living without them that much more difficult.
Joan Lee was an inspiration to her husband's work from the beginning as Stan gave her credit as part of the inspiration for the Fantastic Four. The characters that would start Marvel comics on a path to creating some of the most loved characters in all of fiction.
While Stan became one of the biggest names in entertainment, Joan Lee became accomplished in her own right. In 1987 she published a novel The Pleasure Palace and while Stan has become the one known for making cameos in Marvel movies, Joan has done her share of work with Marvel as well. She appeared alongside her husband in his cameo in X-Men: Apocalypse (the image above) and she lent her voice to a number of animated Marvel projects including The Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man cartoon from the 1990s.
Marvel released a public statement offering thoughts and prayers and while the family has made a statement confirming Joan's passing, they've also asked that the family be left alone and be given time to grieve. Stan and Joan had two children, though, tragically, one passed away shortly after birth.
Losing loved ones is always difficult and the relationship between Stan and Joan really looks like it was one for the ages. Things will never be quite the same, but hopefully Joan's friends and family will be able to look back on her life and remember the happiness that she brought to them. Fans all of the world will remember Joan Lee for the way she inspired some of the most creative characters we've ever known.
