Joan Lee was married to Stan Lee for 69 years.
Joan Lee, the wife of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee for 69 years, died Thursday. She was 93.
Longtime spokeswoman Dawn Miller confirmed the passing to USA TODAY with a statement, which also called for privacy for Lee, 94.
“I can confirm the sad news that Joan Lee passed away this morning quietly and surrounded by her family, ” the statement read. “The family ask that you please give them time to grieve and respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Marvel Comics also released a statement on Twitter.
“We are so saddened to hear about the loss of Joan Lee, ” the Marvel statement read. “We lost a member of the Marvel family today and our thoughts and prayers go out to Stan and his daughter Joan in this difficult time.”
The Hollywood Reporter stated that Joan Lee suffered a stroke earlier in the week and was hospitalized,
Stan Lee told THR a story about meeting his wife, a British hat model, while living in New York City.
“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, ” Lee said.
He met Joan Lee at Laden Hats: “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.”
Joan Lee established residency in Reno, Nev., to seek a divorce from her unhappy marriage, according to THR. Stan Lee flew to Reno where a judge granted her divorce. An hour later, the judge married Stan and Joan in a room next door.
Stan Lee makes another cameo appearance in Marvel’s Spider-man: Homecoming, now in theaters.
At Homecoming ‘s premiere last month, Lee was visibly pleased, telling a reporter from the Los Angeles Daily News afterwards: “I like everything about my life, so it’s fun. I’ m lucky enough to have friends that I like, a wife that I love. And every day is a new adventure.”
Lee is scheduled to receive a Disney Legend honor along with Oprah Winfrey and the late Carrie Fisher at the D23 Expo 2017 on Friday, July 14.
