Elizabeth Montgomery Heinz

1950 - 2017
Heinz, Elizabeth Montgomery b. February 10, 1950, d. April 27, 2017, in Berkeley, California.

Daughter of Jane Aldridge Montgomery, St. Simons Island, Georgia, and the late Robert Cornelius Montgomery Jr. She is survived by her husband of 36 years, Kurt Heinz, and her son, Alexander Montgomery Heinz (partner, Samantha Etta Cooper). Sister of Robert C. Montgomery III, sister-in-law to Sharon, Josette, Carol and Michael. Loving aunt to Gavin and Zane Montgomery and Ryan and Brendan Kirwin.

Liz was born in Stamford and raised in New Canaan, Connecticut. She graduated from New Canaan High School, attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College, graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in the second class to include women, and received a Program for Management Development certificate from the Harvard Business School.

In New York City, Liz worked for ten years at Louis Harris and Associates, becoming Senior Vice President responsible for Health Care Research. She conducted pioneering opinion-research studies on women's attitudes towards balancing work and family, the Equal Rights Amendment, and managed health care. In 1984, Liz and Kurt moved to San Francisco, where she joined Wells Fargo Bank as vice president and manager of market research. After 15 years and having been treated for breast cancer, she retired from Wells Fargo as Senior Vice President for Corporate Marketing.

She found meaning and joy in her work, but above all in the companionship of her friends, family, and beloved poodle, Dustin. Liz rewarded herself in retirement by traveling, developing her passion for digital photography, and attending a monthly writing group and a thrice-weekly Berkeley Y Healthy Heart class. She contributed to the community by coordinating disaster-preparedness in her neighborhood. After her battle with ocular melanoma became her full-time job, she spent her remaining time in the comfort of her home, surrounded by friends and family, and enjoying the successes of the Golden State Warriors.

The family would like to thank her oncology team at California Pacific Medical Center, the Thomas Jefferson University Medical Center ocular melanoma team, and the Pathways hospice group. If you are kind enough to want to make a donation in Liz's honor, she has requested that you direct it to clinical research on treatment for ocular melanoma: https://w3.jefferson. edu/giving/uveal-melanoma.html