Vivien F. Petermann

Vivien Fay Petermann (née Vivien Ruth Fay), 83, passed away peacefully on December 28, 2025, at Absolute Care at Aurora Park nursing home in East Aurora, New York. She was born on October 21, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the Hudson Valley.

Vivien was the daughter of Joseph Jerome Fay and Vivien Fay (née Vivien Gulla Berthelsen). She is survived by her two children and two grandchildren: her daughter, Anne Elizabeth Petermann, married to Orin Langelle of Randolph, New York; her son, Albert Edward (Pete) Petermann IV, married to Christina Petermann of East Aurora, New York; and her grandchildren, Albert Edward Petermann V and Michael Joseph Petermann.

She was predeceased by her beloved sister, Joan Fay Thibodeau, and her brother, Joseph Jerome Fay, MD.

Vivien met her husband Albert Edward Petermann III while they were students at Potsdam– she at SUNY Potsdam and he at Clarkson University. Vivien graduated with a bachelor’s in education from Potsdam University in 1964, and spent the summer after graduation in Paris, exploring the city with her friend Sheila.

Vivien and Albert married on May 30, 1965 and raised two children. They lived in East Aurora from 1969 to 2023, except for Georgetown, Ontario from 1971 to 1975 and Tonawanda, NY from 2001 to 2017. Vivien was predeceased by Albert on January 1, 2010.

After moving back to East Aurora from Canada, Vivien went back to school for nursing at Trocaire College, where she graduated with High Honors. She worked as a Registered Nurse for many years, including as Head nurse on a floor at Aurora Park nursing home and at Sheehan Memorial Hospital. She settled at Episcopal General in Buffalo, where she loved working as a home health nurse, serving the house-bound residents of the city’s Fruit-belt district.

Vivien’s work in a nursing home and with terminally ill patients – including her husband Albert who died of ALS – made her passionate about the ability of people to have a choice about when and how to die. She was avid supporter of Compassion and Choice, an organization whose mission is “A society that affirms life and accepts the inevitability of death, embraces expanded options for compassionate dying and empowers everyone to choose end-of-life care that reflects their values, priorities and beliefs.” Vivien was also very interested in animal welfare supporting many charities and adopting numerous cats and dogs throughout her life.

Vivien’s life was always filled with family, to whom she was devoted, working tirelessly as a caregiver. She was always ready to lend a hand to someone in need. Vivien loved the outdoors and shared this passion with her children, taking them to favorite spots such as Sinking Ponds, Emery Park and Letchworth State Park. As a child, she recalled “running through the hills” with her two collie-shepherds in the rolling farmland of Red Hook. As an adult, she was an avid walker, spending much of her free time walking around Knox Farm in East Aurora or the Green Acres subdivision of Tonawanda.

She raised her children in an atmosphere of unconditional love and was immensely proud of them. Anne co-founded and directs Global Justice Ecology Project, an international non-profit organization, and Pete is a well- respected member of Buffalo’s construction community in his leadership position with Trophy Point Construction.

Vivien requested that no memorial be held, but that her ashes should be scattered in the Adirondack Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Vivien can be made to Compassion and Choices https://compassionandchoices.org/ , Hope for Cats, https://hopeforcatsinc.org/ or Global Justice Ecology Project, https://globaljusticeecology.org/