June (Partridge) Zintz, founding member of the Western NY Genealogical Society, passed away this past sunday. She was the editor of their quarterly journal and was very active in collecting and publishing historical and genealogical information from all of the WNY counties, including Chautauqua and Cattaraugus. The Society's collection is located in the Buffalo & Erie Co Public Library. June (Partridge) Zintz May 23, 1927 - Oct. 7, 2007 Buffalo Evening News Helping her daughter with an eighth-grade project on the family tree 40 years ago sparked June P. Zintz's interest in genealogy, which captivated and occupied her the rest of her life. Mrs. Zintz, who also was an accomplished draftsman and golfer, died Sunday in St. Joseph Hospital, Cheektowaga, after surgery. She was 80. Born June Partridge in Hamburg, she graduated from Hamburg High School in 1944. Following graduation, she attended a concentrated program in mechanical drawing given by Cornell University, then went to work at Curtiss-Wright as a draftsman, working on airplane designs at the end of World War II. She later did drafting at a number of local firms, lastly Trautman Associates. Mrs. Zintz, who lived in Orchard Park, was active at South Shore Country Club and later at Lancaster Country Club. She played in a number of sectional tournaments and shot four holes-inone, three of them in tournaments. The fateful assignment on the family tree was for her daughter, Sondra, in 1967. "What started out as a homework assignment sparked my mother's interest when she started helping her," said Mrs. Zintz's son, Norman C. Jr. "She got interested in that and went on from there." She traced her ancestry to the Mayflower, then to Europe and beyond, he said. Her research took her to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and to Europe. She also helped many others trace their roots. In 1974, Mrs. Zintz founded the Western New York Genealogical Society after placing a classified ad in the newspaper and arranging for the first meeting. The driving force behind it, she served as president, vice president and registrar, and was the editor of the society's quarterly journal from 1987 until her death. A computer enthusiast since 1983, Mrs. Zintz used her skills to computerize all the records necessary for the smooth running of the society. She also was the author of several books on 19th century Buffalo marriage records and indexed and republished Briggs' "History of the Original Town of Concord." Mrs. Zintz was a 39-year member of Katharine Pratt Horton Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and once served as the organization's registrar. She was a member of several national genealogical societies and in 1976 was a member of the first committee to establish the Federation of Genealogical Societies. She was a volunteer at Our Lady of Victory Hospital and served on the board of directors for Hamburg Meals on Wheels. In addition to her son, she is survived by her daughter, Sondra Gagnon. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in Kaczor Funeral Home, 5453 Southwestern Blvd., Town of Hamburg.