 Salinger died of natural causes at his home in New Hampshire on January 27 , 2010 . He was 91 . Salinger 's literary representative told The New York Times that the writer had broken his hip in May 2009 , but that " his health had been excellent until a rather sudden decline after the new year . " The representative believed that Salinger 's death was not a painful one . His third wife and widow , Colleen O 'Neill Zakrzeski Salinger , and Salinger 's son Matt became the executors of his estate . 
