Nancy Ann Blum, 86, of Athens, beloved mother and grandmother and friend to everyone who knew her, dedicated environmentalist and social justice advocate, a woman who loved cats, books of all shape and kind, 19th century art, adventure travel, and the pleasures of cookies and conversation, died peacefully at home on Thursday, February 14, 2019.
She worked to make the world a better place – and she did just that every single day.
Born Nancy Ann Hilpp in Chicago on February 1, 1933, and known to everyone as Ann, she learned to value independence early. By the age of 8, she was riding city trolleys to horseback riding lessons. An early lover of books, she worked for a Chicago-based publishing company before studying writing, advertising, and marketing at the University of Illinois. While at Illinois, she met the love of her life – Murray S. Blum, who would become an internationally known entomologist at the University of Georgia – and they married in 1953. She received her BA from Illinois at almost the same time and later would receive a master’s degree in education from UGA. She went on to work at the university’s Institute of Government for many years, with an emphasis on its publication programs. Even after retirement, she remained a lifetime UGA supporter.
She is survived by her four daughters: Deborah Blum, and husband, Peter Haugen, of Boston, MA; Darcy Szeremi, and partner, Jerry Martin, of Chapel Hill, NC; Dawn Lewis, and husband, Fred Lewis, of Austin, TX; Dana Kuehn, and fiancé, Steve Kenney, of Atlanta, GA; her brother, Roger Hilpp, of Aurora, IL; her grandchildren, Marcus and Lucas Haugen; Hannah, Alex, and Amanda Lewis; Andrew and Tristan Szeremi (and their father, Michael Szeremi) and countless friends.
A memorial service will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens on Sunday, March 17th, at 2:30 p.m., followed by a reception. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to one of her favorite charities: The Georgia Museum of Natural History, The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, or the World Wildlife Fund.
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