Nancy Deromedi (b. November 9, 1961; d. October 13, 2014) was an archivist at the Bentley Historical Library and the founder of the architectural history group a2Modern.

Obituary

Deromedi, Nancy Marie 11/9/1961 - 10/13/2014

Ann Arbor, Michigan Nancy Deromedi, age 52, passed away at home on Oct 13 after saying her good-byes to her loving family and close friends. She had bravely waged a year-long fight with esophageal cancer.

Nancy was born in Wyandotte, Michigan on November 9, 1961, the daughter of Jerry Allen and Gaye Kathleen Skinner. She arrived in Ann Arbor in 1986 to open a Laura Ashley clothing store after earning a business management degree at Ferris State in 1983. On November 17, 1990 she married David Deromedi and decided to return to school to study history at the University of Michigan.

Her future career in archives was decided when she took a seminar in Michigan history and discovered the Bentley Historical Library. Nancy earned a B.A. from the School of Literature, Science and the Arts (1995), and a Masters Degree from the School of Information (1997). She started working at the Bentley as an assistant archivist in 1997, rising through the ranks, and was recently appointed Associate Director for Curation. She was an expert curator of digital archives, designing a series of new and consequential best practices for preserving complex digital collections, including the curation of digital archives from Governor Jennifer Granholm and University of Michigan President James J. Duderstadt, as well as the preservation of the University's essential administrative records from its executive offices. Her ideas for digital archives were awarded support by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Historic Records and Publications Commission, and the University of Michigan Information and Technology Services. Her work inspired a new publication series of the Society of American Archivists, entitled Campus Case Studies, and her reputation led to invitations to present at conferences as far away as Beijing, Copenhagen, Paris, Vienna, and also throughout the U.S. She also helped cultivate important architectural design collections for the Bentley from architects Robert Metcalf and David Osler, whose works were recently featured at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, along with the work of George Brigham, an earlier architect who introduced modern architecture in Ann Arbor.

Nancy was a person of wide interests, enjoying history, architecture, and landscape, and used her extensive travels to further her knowledge. She loved spending leisure time at the Deromedi's historic log house on the natural beauty of Pelee Island, Ontario. When living on Ann Arbor's Old West Side, she researched her arts and crafts period house, collected furniture and pottery of the era, and created a period correct landscape. She became interested in Ann Arbor's contributions to modernism when she and David purchased a Brigham designed home in 2005 and worked with Robert Metcalf on the home's renovations. Along with other interested homeowners and local historians, she founded the architectural history group a2Modern to raise the awareness and preservation of Ann Arbor's exceptional legacy of modern architecture and design. She helped make the organization the magnet for everyone interested in this style, publishing a map of mid-century modern houses in Ann Arbor, organizing walks, field trips, house tours, and lectures, as well as working with Eastern Michigan University historic preservation students.

In addition to her husband David and her parents, she is survived by her brother Jeffrey Allen Skinner (and wife Mio) of Osaka, Japan, sister Patricia Skinner- Smudz (and husband Alan) of Monroe, MI, parents in-law, Herb and Marilyn Deromedi of Mt. Pleasant, MI, sister-in-law Lori Deromedi of Ann Arbor, brother and sister-in-law Thomas and Lyndia Deromedi of Linden, MI, and loving nieces and nephews Matthew, Anne, and Jessica Smudz , Noah and Ian Deromedi, and Kai and Riki Haiden-Skinner.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor on November 7, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. with a reception at the Ann Arbor City Club immediately following. In lieu of flowers the family has requested memorial contributions to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens (www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg) or Arbor Hospice (www.arborhospice.org).

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