If you want to learn more about Marion Mohr Wild’s legacy, look no further than the Montgomery Village Museum. Her legacy is in the pages and pages of notes written in elegant, slanted cursive, detailing every piece of Montgomery’s history. It’s in the exhibits, some bearing her own memorabilia. It’s in the village itself, every facet of which was touched by her life.

Montgomery’s historian for more than 20 years, Wild passed away on July 9. She was 95.

A prolific writer who shunned computers, she preferred to hand-write notes that were tucked into filing cabinets and books and exhibits. The notes detailed the most momentous and the most mundane: a World War II-era cake recipe; the price of milk on Jan. 21, 1911; all the businesses who occupied the building formerly known as the Palace Hotel, with dates and owners; an account of a game from the 1930s known as donkey baseball.

Wild could find any note or artifact from memory; ask her any fact, and she could point to the exact cabinet and file among a wall of them. Many people who knew her talked about her extraordinary memory and quick wit.

“She really was one of the most intelligent people in Montgomery,” long-time friend Michael Mont said.

She was passionate and dedicated to the village in which she spent her entire life. She was instrumental in establishing the Montgomery Village Museum in the former Methodist Church, along with the help of girl and boy scouts earning their gold and eagle awards.

Wild’s successor, Brian Fitzpatrick, knows he has big shoes to fill. Fitzpatrick and his wife, Charlene, are currently sorting and compiling Wild’s notes so they can be preserved.

While Fitzpatrick has his own plans for the village museum, he said Wild’s passion and dedication for the museum and the village and her breadth of historical knowledge will remain unmatched.

“I’m 6’5” but I always looked up to Marion,” Fitzpatrick said. “I wear size 13 shoes, but I will never fill her shoes. It’s impossible.”

Long-time friend Marianne Mont said Wild went out of her way to collect information for anyone who asked, whether they wanted to learn more about their family or other historical information.

That was the type of person she was; she was kind, outgoing, generous. She knew everyone and made friends quickly.

“She was friends with everybody,” Marianne Mont said. “No matter who she came into contact with, she was best friends.”

While history was her main love, Wild’s legacy extends far beyond the walls of the Montgomery Village Museum. She touched people in all facets of the village, from the business community to her church to the village’s youth and beyond.

She collaborated with Walden Savings Bank to create a historical mural for its Montgomery Branch in 2016. Walden Savings Bank President Derrik Wynkoop worked with Wild for a few months on the project. He said the vast amount of information she had was astounding and she loved sharing it.

“She had all this information in her head and she just wanted to share it,” Wynkoop said.

Wild also assisted Walden Savings Bank for its 40th anniversary in 2015, where she presented Wynkoop with a plaque from the previous bank that occupied the building.

“She had this metal, brass plaque that was bigger than her practically,” Wynkoop said. “She made her son put it in the car and she comes lugging in this huge sign. It was very important to really know the history of the village.”

Wild was also historian of her church, Holy Name of Mary-Assumption. Long-time friend Lorraine Kalafut said Wild took care of the landscaping around the church and welcomed priests into her home. She hosted “The Belles”, a female seniors’ church group, at the village museum.

“To me, she was the force of Montgomery,” Kalafut said.

Wild worked with several Girl and Boy Scouts, helping them in their Gold and Eagle projects and other scout activities.

Rachel Zock said Wild gave her son, Joshua, the idea for his Eagle Scout project. He beautified the monument in front of Montgomery Elementary School just ahead of its 75th anniversary. The scouts had a ceremony for the anniversary, with village officials, relatives of the veterans and members from the community.

While Joshua did not know the 75th anniversary of the monument was coming up when he picked the project, Wild did.

“I had said to Marion, ‘Did you know that it was the 75th anniversary this year when you told that to Joshua? She said, “Of course I did,” Zock said, chuckling. “So, she was right on top of getting things done.”

She had a special connection with the youth of the village, inviting school children to the museum for class trips. The Marion Wild Girl Scout Service Unit bears her name in honor of her contributions to the Girl Scouts of America.

“She was like the matriarch of the community,” Zock said.

Wild had many passions, from history to her church to her Irish heritage. The Montes said she loved Irish music. At her funeral, guests laid shamrocks on her coffin. She was an active member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians #2 Cornwall Division.

She was also a member of the Historic Montgomery Association and Orange County Genealogy Society. She was a member of the St. Luke’s Nurses’ Alumnae, serving as historian.

While she tried to avoid the spotlight, it often found her. Wild was honored as Grand Marshall of an early village parade, again as Grand Marshall of General Montgomery Day Parade in 2015, and Mid-Hudson St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 2003. She received the “Faith Family, Community and Cultural Award” at the 2003 Irish Heritage Festival in recognition of her dedication to pursuing Irish culture.

She was the recipient of many awards, including Service Above Self, Walden Rotary Club, Town of Montgomery Service Award, Orange County Revered Citizen of the Year, Montgomery Elementary School Parent-Teachers Life Membership, Montgomery Girl Scout Troop 122 Memorial, Daughters of the American Revolution Community Service Award, and most recently the Public Historians of New York State Franklin D. Roosevelt Award: Professional Achievement Award.

Village of Montgomery Mayor Stephen Brescia, who worked with Wild through the village museum, said she will be dearly missed.

“She was instrumental to the village,” Brescia said. “She was a gigantic part of our village history and feeling of togetherness. She gave so much of her life to spreading good will.”