Gov was diagnosed with cancer more than four years ago. Her funeral will be held at the Menuha Nehona Cemetery in Kfar Saba at 1 pm Monday.
Gov spoke of her illness in an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth last year: "If you spend a year of suffering with treatments, and then you overcome it, that's fine; but as soon as I realized I would have to live with cancer like a chronic disease, I just wanted to wave a white flag and say, 'Thank you very much, goodbye, it was very nice.'
Anat Gov. 'A rare woman' (Photo: Gabi Menashe)
"I didn't do it, because I'm not alone in this world, I have a family. The doctor told me, 'At least try. It's not what you remember from your parents.' And the truth is that there are many things today that make it easier. It's not the end of the world. So as long as I have more good days than bad days, I'll do the treatments. I just hope I'll identify the moment when I decide I've had enough.
"When the doctor tells you that you can keep smoking, you understand your condition. They realized that they should let me enjoy. Smoking is really my greatest weakness, something I can't control. Every other doctor I meet tells me explicitly, 'Cigarettes are not what will kill you.'
"I don't let myself sink into self pity. It seems like the biggest waste of time. I seldom give myself five to 15 minutes of self pity. Not more."
With Arik Einstein. 'My heart is torn' (Photo: Shaul Golan)
Actress Anat Waxman, who worked with Gov in the play "Happy End," said Sunday: "She was a brave, funny, wise and very rare woman. She had a very happy presence. We would laugh a lot together and went through a fascinating journey that taught us a lot.
"She knew how to live a full and admirable life in the shadow of the disease. She was always very present. The decision on what her death would look like was characterized by great concern for everyone."
Singer Arik Einstein said, "Her entire conduct recently was very moving. She was a real hero. My heart is torn."
Young lovers. Anat and Gidi Gov (Photo: Shimon Weizman)
Anat Gov was born in Tiberias in 1953. She joined the IDF in the 1970s and served in the Nahal troops entertainment group, where she met her future husband, singer and actor Gidi Gov.
The two continued to work together later on, as Gov wrote the scripts for television shows her husband participated in, including long-running entertainment program "Zehu Ze!" They also wrote a children's book together.
Anat Gov. 'I wanted to wave a white flag' (Photo: Shaul Golan)
In the 1990s, she began writing comedies for the Cameri Theater. Her most successful plays include "Best Friends," "Lysistrata 2000" and "Househusband."
Another play, "Happy End," about a woman dealing with cancer, won her the Nissim Aloni playwriting award in 2011. In 2012, she received the Gottlieb and Hannah Rosenblum Performing Arts Award on behalf of the Tel Aviv Municipality.
Gov is survived by her husband of the past 35 years, Gidi, their three children and two granddaughters.
Or Barnea, Yaara Yaakov, Ran Boker and Eran Baron contributed to this report