Memorial to Peter Heller to be held Saturday

Heller

A memorial in honor of the late Peter Heller, professor emeritus of modern languages and literatures who died Nov. 7, 1998, will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the Emeritus Center in Goodyear Hall on the South Campus. Colleagues, friends and family will gather to honor his memory. The event is being organized by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Heller family.

Heller, a scholar who wrote and published poetry and fiction in German and English, served as chair of the former Department of German and Slavic Languages, and as acting chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. He also founded the Graduate Group in Modern German Studies and served as director of graduate studies in German.

Patricia Coty-Loncto, 48, MCEER information services manager

Coty-Loncto

A Celebration of Remembrance was held April 7 in Cooper Funeral Home, Niagara Falls, for Patricia Ann Coty-Loncto, 48, manager of information services at the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), headquartered at UB. Coty died April 3 in her North Tonawanda home after a 4-1/2 year battle against breast cancer.

Coty, who held a bachelor's degree in biology and master's degrees in library science and education from UB, joined the earthquake center as an information specialist in 1987 and established the information service, along with its first manager, Jim Webster. She became manager in 1989. In 1993, she received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Professional Service.

The author of numerous articles on earthquake information, library management and media studies, she was a member of the advisory committee of the National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and served as secretary of the Upstate New York chapter of the Special Libraries Association.

Before joining MCEER, she was administrator of special projects for the Western New York Library Resources Council and earlier served as associate director/associate librarian in the UB Science and Engineering Library.

Coty was a local and national advocate for breast cancer research. She founded the Breast Cancer Discussion and Support Group of the Tonawandas and in 1997, received the annual survivors' award of the American Cancer Society of Erie County.

Dorothy Tao, acting manager of information services at the earthquake center, noted that Coty was "a leader in our field...highly respected by researchers and engineers practicing worldwide.

"She was truly heroic in her fight (against cancer), seeking out experimental treatments and researching all viable possibilities. She applied her talents in advocacy to her own cause and wrote a letter to Hillary Clinton that effectively changed the rules for patients in experimental treatments after clinical trials have begun."

Robert W. Schultz, 62, clinical assistant professor of medicine

Schultz

A memorial service was held March 30 in Westminster Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, for Robert W. Schultz, 62, a clinicial assistant professor in the Department of Medicine who died March 27 in his home in Amherst after a long battle with cancer.

Schultz, a graduate of the UB medical school and a past president of the UB Medical Alumni Association, had served on the faculty at UB since 1970. He maintained a private practice in internal medicine, renal disease and hypertension, and had published numerous papers in his areas of specialty.

Schultz served as chief of nephrology at Millard Fillmore Hospital and was a consultant in nephrology for Sisters Hospital, Kenmore Mercy Hospital and DeGraff Memorial Hospital. Instrumental in the development of Western New York's first outpatient dialysis center, he also founded the High Blood Pressure Control Program of Western New York.

A past president and board member of the Western New York chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA), he served on the board of directors of the New York State affiliate of the AHA. In 1984, he was named Man of the Year for the AHA's Western New York chapter for his dedication and support in the fight against heart disease.

Schultz was a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology and the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs. He was a member of the National Kidney Foundation, serving on the Western New York board of directors and executive commitee. In 1975, he received the organization's Distinguished Service Award