 Edgar committed suicide after a severe bout of depression during 1930, widowing Irma at age 52, and leaving her with $6,000 in life savings.Rombauer's children, Marion Rombauer Becker and Edgar Roderick ("Put") Rombauer, Jr., encouraged her to compile her recipes and thoughts on cooking to help her cope with her loss.Rombauer spent much of the summer of 1930 in Michigan, creating the first drafts that would later become "Joy of Cooking".