A obituary in the February 18 issue of the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) states, “It is with great sadness that the family of Laura Ames Acord announces her passing February 13, 2011, at age 46. Predeceased by her father Ralph Ames. … She was a creative individual who worked within the music industry as an orchestra administrator. Among the many orchestral organizations for whom she worked were: Buffalo Philharmonic, Poughkeepsie Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Soviet-American Youth Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and the New York Pops. Later she focused on a career in marketing administration. She was a 9/11/2001 survivor, having escaped the World Trade Center where she was working for Deutsche Bank.” In a February 23 eulogy on Facebook, her sister Tricia Ames Fischer wrote, due to the debris and toxic chemicals in the air after 9/11, Laura’s health “was never quite right after 9/11 and by 2006 (just three years after marrying her ‘cowboy with a heart of gold’ Matt Acord) autoimmune illness began an all out attack on Laura’s lungs. The massive amounts of chemotherapy drugs and monstrous steroids required to battle her illness took their toll on Laura’s body, but not her spirit.” Ames completed the League of American Orchestras’ Orchestra Management Fellows Program in 1988.
Posted May 17, 2011
