Obituaries

Amy J. Vilz was determined to live life to the fullest after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.

UB’a archivist since 2013, Vilz traveled to Europe, bought a house, planted a perennial garden, toured Buffalo as if she were a tourist and wrote her own obituary.

Vilz died March 4 in Hospice Buffalo’s Mitchell Campus. She was 47.

A native of Buffalo, Vilz received a BA in history in 1995, and a MLS in 2006, both from UB.  She held archival positions at Rochester Institute of Technology, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, D’Youville College and the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library Rare Book Room before joining the University Libraries in 2013.

She served as co-editor-in-chief of the open access journal The Reading Room.  She was a member of the Western New York/Ontario Association of College and Research Libraries.

Vilz’ family members say she worked to help people understand the importance of preserving history as a way of better appreciating the present and planning better for the future. (Read this profile of Vilz in UBNow).

The Amy J. Vilz Fund has been established at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and will provide endowed support for the Buffalo Garden Walk.