Anthony Grove Hillerman was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma. He attended St. Mary's Academy and Konawa High School where he graduated in 1942. After a brief sojourn to college, he returned to farming. In 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart. He was discharged in 1945. After the war, he studied at the University of Oklahoma, obtaining a BA in 1948. In that same year, he married Marie Unzner. The couple has six children. From 1948 to 1962, he worked in a variety of journalist positions. In 1963, he returned to graduate school in English at the University of New Mexico where he obtained his MA in 1966. Until 1987, he taught at the journalism faculty of UNM. He is the creator of 'Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee', a former police lieutenant and a sergeant of the Navajo tribal police. His daughter, Anne Hillerman, continues the series. Visit also this site.