of South American Explorers, a non-profit travel, scientific and educational organization. She was on the organization's advisory board and was interviewed for the South American Explorer on the lines' significance and importance. Personal life Reiche once confessed that at age 40, she passionately fell in love with one of her students, but never said the name. She only said he was "a red-haired man with freckles". According to her long-time friend Clorinda Caller, he was a young Jew who may have had poliomyelitis. This man spoke several languages and also worked as a UN translator. Reiche's best friend was Amy Meredith, who not only was the first person to fund her work, but also played a key role in Maria's interest in the Nazca lines, since she ran a Café — called the "Tearoom" — where many intellectuals gathered, including Julio C. Tello and Paul Kosok. It was in this place where Reiche got to meet both scientists. The death of Meredith in January 1960 had a huge impact in Maria's life. Reiche's health deteriorated as she aged. She used a wheelchair, suffered from skin ailments, and lost her sight. In her later years, she also suffered from Parkinson's disease. At the age of 90 she published Contributions to Geometry and Astronomy in Ancient Peru. Maria Reiche died of ovarian cancer on 8 June 1998, at Fuerza Aérea del Perú (Peruvian Air Force) Hospital, at Las Palmas Air Base in Santiago de Surco, Lima, Peru. Reiche was buried with her sister, Dr Renate Reiche-Grosse, near Nazca with official honors. A street and school in Nazca are named for her. References External links Asociación Maria Reiche, website, non-profit for conservation and preservation of the Lines and Figures of Nasca Association "Dr. Maria Reiche – Lines and Figures of the Nasca culture in Peru", University of Applies Sciences, Dresden Homepage Maria Reiche Zetzsche, Viola and Schulze, Dietrich: Biography of Maria Reiche, Picture Book of the Desert – Maria Reiche and the Ground Designs of Nasca, Mitteldeutscher Verlag Halle, September 2005, Maria Reiche. Detailed chronology (with literature from Peru) "Maria Reiche and the Stars of Nazca", Anita Jepson-Gilbert, Nazca Resources. 1903 births 1998 deaths 20th-century women scientists Andean scholars TU Dresden alumni Archaeologists from Dresden Peruvian archaeologists Recipients of the Order of the Sun of Peru German women archaeologists Peruvian women archaeologists Deaths from ovarian cancer German emigrants to Peru Deaths from cancer