Obituary
Buffalo-Ruth Fitch Maier died October 5, 2023 at Elderwood at Cheektowaga. She was 99.
Ruth Fitch Maier was born November 1, 1923 in Buffalo, daughter of the late Charles H. and Pearl Fisher Fitch. A graduate of Smith College, she also held an M.A. from Boston University. She worked briefly in retail advertising at Hengerer’s in Buffalo before her marriage in 1947 to the late Robert E. Maier. They lived in Eden for many years, moving to Williamsville in 1998.
Mrs. Maier was active in clubs and civic affairs both in Eden and in Buffalo; she was a tireless organizer and fundraiser for many organizations. She was a past president of the Smith College Club of Buffalo, the Women’s Committee of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Eden Up to Date Club; she also served as first vice president of the Western New York Federation of Women’s Clubs. She served as a member of the board of directors of the Women’s Committee of the Buffalo Philharmonic, on the Philharmonic’s Board of Overseers, and on the Women’s Advisory Board for the New York State Fair. She was a member of the Buffalo Schola Cantorum, and performed throughout the region in a women’s vocal trio. She was also active in the Eden Garden Club and served as a tutor at Friendship House in Lackawanna.
Widely traveled and with a strong interest in music, books, theatre, art, and foreign affairs, Mrs. Maier was known for her literary talks and oral book reviews which she gave to women’s groups, service clubs, church and community organizations, and college classes in Western New York, at Chautauqua Institution, and beyond. Topics ranged from houses in literature to literary criticism and future studies; authors discussed and reviewed included Mark Van Doren, Elizabeth Bowen, Willa Cather, H. G. Wells and Rebecca West, Bertrand Russell, and Saul Bellow, among others.
She was predeceased by her husband, Robert E. Maier; her sister, Dorothy Fitch Adamson; and her cousin Jean Hubbell. She is survived by her son Robert (Jennifer) of Worthington, OH; her daughter Melissa of New Haven, CT; grandchildren Jessie (Jon) Brothers and Will Maier; and Mariaclara (Valden Kamph) and Marc Zazzaro; great grandson Renick Jackson Brothers; her cousin Barbara Stark, and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra , 786 Delaware Ave., Buffalo NY 14209; or to the Hamburg Unitarian Universalist Church, Box 157, Hamburg NY 14075.
Arrangements were handled by Amherst Memorial Chapel.
Arrangements by Amherst Memorial Chapel. www.amherstmemorialchapel.com