Amy Sloane Vance

VANCE--Amy Sloane, a lawyer and advocate for the poor and needy, passed away this past Monday after a long and brave struggle with cancer. A native New Yorker who spent her entire professional life in New York City, Amy graduated from Mt. Holyoke College and Fordham School of Law. As a young lawyer, Amy practiced law at the Carter Ledyard law firm before working as a program officer at the Ford Foundation. She then spent more than 20 years working for the New York State Office of Court Administration, most recently as Deputy Counsel to Chief Judge Judith Kaye, before retiring in 2007. Throughout her career and life, Amy devoted her heart and soul, intellect, energies and leadership to help the city's most vulnerable, applying her lawyer's training and problem solving talents to serve the needs of the poor. An active member of the Church of the Heavenly Rest, she was also Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, supporting the Federation's historic legacy of caring for those most in need. Amy had a strong interest in health care ethics, serving on the Mt. Sinai Hospital Institutional Review Board. Amy was the daughter of Cyrus R. Vance, and is survived by her mother, Grace Sloane Vance, three sisters, Elsie Vance Askar, Camilla Vance Holmes and Grace Roberts Vance, her brother, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., a nephew and niece, Simon and Clare Vance, step-nephew Kemal Askar, sister-in-law Peggy Vance, and brothers-in-law Attila Askar and William Holmes, and a large community of loving friends who were inspired by her courage, sense of humor, and commitment to public service. Services will be held this Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 4 pm at the Church of the Heavenly Rest. In lieu of flowers, Amy asked that any donations be sent to the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center in memory of Amy Vance, P.O. Box 27106, New York, New York 10087.