Jane Henson, Muppets co-creator and ex-wife of late Muppeteer Jim Henson, has died at age 78 after a long battle with cancer. She died in her Connecticut home yesterday.

Jane Nebel Henson met her future husband in a puppetry class at the University of Maryland in the 1950s. Soon after, they created the Muppets together, beginning a creative and business partnership that would last until Jim’s death in 1990. Several years after the creation of the Muppets, Jane and Jim married. They had five children.

In the following years, Jane remained an integral part of The Jim Henson Company while also continuing her studies in fine art and eventually becoming an assistant art teacher at the Mead School for Human Development. In addition to her work on the Muppets, Jane also served on the board of The Jim Henson Foundation, an organization that provides grants to practicing and aspiring puppeteers.

Although Jane and Jim ended their marriage in 1986, they continued to collaborate on the Muppets and their shared philanthropic projects. After Jim’s death, Jane founded The Jim Henson Legacy to preserve her late ex-husband’s artistic contributions to the world. In her later years, she also founded The Jane Henson Foundation, a philanthropic organization, and co-founded The National Puppetry Conference, through which she discovered and supported hundreds of up-and-coming puppeteers. She received many awards and accolades for her tireless work.

While Jane always tried to downplay her contribution to the Muppets, it’s clear she was incredibly important to the beloved characters’ creation and legacy.

She often said, “Jim wanted to leave the world a better place.”

In the words of Arthur Novell, Trustee of The Jim Henson Legacy, “Most would agree they both did.”