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Mother of Fischer quintuplets dies

ABERDEEN, S.D., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Mary Ann Fischer, who in 1963 gave birth to the first surviving set of U.S. quintuplets in Aberdeen, S.D., has died. She was 79.

Her daughter, Julie Wilson, said her mother had been suffering from leukemia and died Sunday.

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On Sept. 14, 1963, Fischer, 30 at the time, gave birth to Mary Ann, Mary Magdalene, Mary Catherine, James Andrew and Mary Margaret. All the quintuplets, now age 49, are still alive, the Aberdeen American News reported Tuesday.

While the children were not weighed at birth, a doctor estimated James Andrew's weight at four pounds and the girls' at 2 1/2 to 3 pounds each.

Del Griffin, employed at the newspaper at the time, said the arrival of the quints brought worldwide media attention to Fischer, her husband Andrew and the city of Aberdeen.

"It was wild, and it stayed that way for about a month," he said.

Articles about the family appeared in newspapers and magazines for years, the newspaper noted.

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