The Amish Cook, Elizabeth Coblentz

      The Amish Cook, Elizabeth Coblentz, 66, of rural Indiana, died Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2002, after collapsing in Blue Springs, Mo., while on a book-signing tour. Her death may have been as a result of an aortic aneurysm.

      Coblentz's column appeared weekly in The Washington Evening Journal and the Kalona Shopper.

      According to her editor, Kevin Williams of Oasis Newsfeatures, Coblentz was Old Order Amish and lived without electricity and plumbing. She wrote her columns by hand each week, then mailed them to Williams for distribution to newspapers across the United States.

      Williams said that Coblentz was 16 when she started writing for The Budget, a newspaper circulated among Amish communities in the United States. In August, 1991, The Quincy Herald-Whig in Quincy, Ill., became the first newspaper to run her column.

      In addition to the recipes that appeared in each of her columns, Coblentz wrote about her eight children and her daily activities.

      In response to her death, Williams said, "Needless to say, this is a tough time for Elizabeth's family; we are all dealing with a deep sadness and shock now. Elizabeth and I had discussed several months ago what to do about her column in the event something happened to her. [She] wanted the column to go on. The Amish Cook will now be penned by one of Elizabeth's daughters, in accordance with Elizabeth's wishes."