I am extremely sad to report that Amy Rauch Neilson passed away at home yesterday, May 6, 2012.

Amy was a long-time associate of BetterInvesting and ICLUBcentral. She was the managing editor of BetterInvesting magazine from 1990-1992, and wrote the popular “Beginner's Corner” column for many years. She also edited the newsletter for the Youth membership that NAIC offered at one time, and continued to contribute articles to BetterInvesting.

For the last several years, she was the pseudonymous “StockCentral Reporter” who created the bi-monthly “StockCentral Gazette” email newsletter, and also wrote a regular column on investment clubs that was published on the StockCentral.com site. Amy also wrote an book on starting and running an investment club that is about to be published in eBook form by ICLUBcentral.

Amy was an exceptional writer who contributed articles on a freelance basis to many publications. She was committed to demystifying personal finance and investing for beginners, and I was perennially in awe of her writing abilities and professionalism.

Amy’s battle with cancer is documented on her blog, “It’s in the Genes” at http://itsinthegenes.org/. She had been working on her memoirs, telling the story of the four generations of women in her family who have carried the BRCA1 gene. She was a tireless warrior and advocate for breast cancer research, treatment, and care, appearing in many newspaper and television stories.

In lieu of flowers, a 529 College Savings Plan has been established for Amy and Don’s son Theo; details are available here:

http://itsinthegenes.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/our-angel-amy/

Please join me in remembering Amy and her family in this difficult time.

Doug