Joan Wight, widow of James Herriot

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From AP:

Joan Wight

NEW YORK (AP) -- Joan Wight, the model for the character Helen Herriot in her
husband's best-seller ``All Creatures Great and Small'' and other books, died
Wednesday. She was in her 80s.

Mrs. Wight's health had deteriorated since the death of her husband, James
Alfred Wight, in 1995, according to Thomas McCormack, former editor at the
publishing house that printed the first five Herriot books.

James Herriot was the pen name for Wight, a Yorkshire, England, veterinarian
who didn't start writing until he was 50. He eventually wrote 15 books, but
never abandoned his veterinary practice.

The couple met when Ms. Wight came to the vet lugging a calf with a broken leg.
The story was later contained in the first Herriot book.

``All Creatures Great and Small'' was his first collection in America, released
in 1972. It became a long-running television series on the BBC and later on
U.S. cable.

Herriot's wife, based on Joan Wight, was ``the humorous, loving, and from time
to time, tolerating wife of James Herriot,'' said McCormack.