Lydia Fish (1939–2026)
Folklorist Lydia Fish died at her residence in Buffalo, NY on January 19, 2026, after a long period of ill health.
Lydia received her BA and MA degrees in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and also obtained a Ph.D. in folklore from Indiana University in 1974. She had been at Buffalo State College for thirty-five years and was a professor emerita of anthropology at the institution. Lydia did extensive fieldwork in the urban folklore of the Niagara Frontier, and she was also the director of The Vietnam Veterans Oral History and Folklore Project.
Lydia’s friends and family will be gathering to celebrate her life this May. More information will be shared on her personal website.
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