I had the amazingly good fortune to meet this lovely & talented woman in 1986 when she was starring in "Arsenic and Old Lace"in NYC.
The Theater Wing in NYC offered fans a chance to have conversations with actors starring on Broadway. I made it to a number of these limited sessions and had many memorable times.
My selfish goal was to make Ms. Stapleton laugh. When I caused her to have a genuine guffaw, it gave me such joy since I consider her one of the funniest actresses who ever lived. I left on a cloud. 
Thank you Ms. Stapleton for being a part of my comedic development & appreciation of the layers a comic/actress can achieve. God bless you!
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CNN) -- Actress Jean Stapleton, best known for her role as Archie Bunker's wife in the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom "All in the Family," has died, her son said Saturday.
(CNN):
"Her son John Putch told
CNN about her passing and, along with his sister Pamela Putch, wrote an
obituary saying that she "passed away peacefully of natural causes" on
Friday at her New York City home "surrounded by friends and her
immediate family."
The daughter of an opera
singer and businessman, Stapleton grew up on Long Island and in New York
City. It was there during the early 1940s, while working as a typist
for the British War Ministry Office, that she began her career in
theater.
Stapleton made it to
Broadway in the production "In the Summer House" in 1953, the same year
of her television debut on the daytime drama "Woman With a Past." Other
big stage roles followed, including in "Bells Are Ringing" and "Damn
Yankees."
She also did more and more television, including appearances on shows such as "Philco TV Playhouse" and "Dr. Kildare."
Her breakout role was as Edith Bunker, the kindhearted foil to husband Archie, played by the late Carroll O'Connor.
"All in the Family" was
one of television's most popular shows as it broke ground while tackling
a host of social issues such as racism, sexuality, life and death.
Edith Bunker, played by Stapleton, for instance revealed that she had
breast cancer on the show, a rare occurrence at the time.
"I just loved doing it from the very beginning," Stapleton told CNN in 2001, shortly after O'Connor's death..."
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