I first met Caroline Villers at the time of her election to the Directory Board of ICOM-CC in Lyons, in September 1999. Tolerant, open, friendly, considerate, knowledgeable and wise, she was a great asset to the Board. In 2001 the Board invited Caroline to become Vice Chair. Caroline assumed responsibility for managing the Preprints — perhaps the most daunting job of any in the Board. Caroline had to maintain liaison between 26 Working Group Coordinators scattered across the globe, an editor based in Ottawa, a Preprints committee, based in London but with an international membership, a publisher and printer based in the UK. She also had to ensure quality by establishing an effective review process and, most importantly, produce the publication on time. Caroline managed it all with calmness and aplomb, never taking or causing offence and keeping focused on the primary objective of producing the Preprints ready for the Rio de Janeiro 13th Triennial meeting of ICOM-CC. Anyone who has seen the Preprints will appreciate that the work was done to a very high standard. These two volumes are a testament to the contribution Caroline made to ICOM-CC.

Caroline was an amusing and entertaining colleague. She had a very down-to-earth common sense way of dealing with things which was of great value at meetings — especially when issues got a little out of proportion. When she died with so much left to contribute we at ICOM were devastated and we grieve for her and for her family. It was a privilege to be her friend.

David Grattan, Chair ICOM-CC, 1996 to 2002