Known simply as “Dave’s mom” to loyal viewers of Late Show With David Letterman, Mengering was a charming, diminutive, white-haired everymom who helped with her son’s top 10 lists, served as an Olympic correspondent, and filed segments from the kitchen of her Indiana home.

In 1996, Mengering published a cookbook, Home Cookin’ with Dave’s Mom, written with EW editorial director Jess Cagle. Speaking to the New York Times about the book and her burgeoning TV stardom, she said, “I couldn’t believe how it all took off. I think it’s about the idea of mom and of a family. People are eager for families to be like they used to be. Even though there are lots of working moms and single-parent families now, you can still be a family in spite of the size and form it takes.”