(CNN)Buddy Elias spent much of his life preserving the memory of his cousin Anne Frank. His death Monday brought back memories for me. 

We met three years ago in an Atlanta hotel conference room. He and his wife, Gerti, were touring the United States to promote a new book. 

I could tell instantly that he was related to Anne. His face resembled hers so much that it felt almost as though I was meeting her in person. 

"Anne Frank's Family" had just been published, based on 14 boxes of letters, postcards, photos and documents that Gerti accidentally discovered in the attic of their house in Basel. 

Elias told me that it wasn't just Anne who loved to write; everyone in the family did. 

The 6,000 recovered documents told a story of a family torn apart by war and anti-Semitism. That day in Atlanta, I listened to Elias tell me about loved ones he lost. He told me he was lucky that his family had remained in neutral Switzerland when World War II broke out. 

I thought back to our conversation Thursday when I learned the news of Elias' death. He died peacefully at his home in Basel, Switzerland, at 90, said an announcement posted on the website of Anne Frank Fonds, the foundation that Elias headed. 

Like millions of people who read "The Diary of Anne Frank," I was deeply influenced by her words and in awe of her family's courage. 

Anne received her diary on her 13th birthday and wrote in it for the two years that her family hid from the Nazis in the secret annex of an Amsterdam apartment. I was only in seventh grade when my father bought me the book in 1975. 
Who is the man who is the focus of the story?
Buddy Elias spent much of his life preserving the memory of his cousin Anne Frank.