The first science fiction I remember is Dad reading me Andre Norton's Daybreak 2034 (or something like that). It was some of the first science fiction he read, when he was a teenager. Since then I've read and loved quite a few of her books, including Crystal Gryphon and Jargoon Pard. She started her writing career in 1934 and she was still writing. So, I am quite sad to say she died yesterday. I have to reread my favorites by her.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/03/17/obit.norton.ap/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/03/17/obit.norton.ap/index.html