She died May 3, 2003, in Hospice Buffalo, Cheektowaga, after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 27.

Born in Buffalo, she was a 1993 graduate of Amherst High School, where she was a member of the girls soccer team. She earned a bachelor's degree in business with an emphasis on international marketing from Fordham University in 1998.

After working as an investment broker for Lehman Brothers Investments in New York City, she decided to become a teacher and returned here to work toward a master's degree in education at Canisius College. She also studied for a year at a college in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

She was a very active member of the Making Headway Foundation, which helps youngsters with brain and spinal tumors.

She is survived by her mother, Carolyn Simpson Potts of Amherst, and a sister, Alison Altre-Kerber of Williamsville.