Nancy Adams
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Nancy Adams was the contact person
at the U. S. National Collection (Smithsonian Institution)
for Aphodiinae, Scarabaeinae and other families not at the "Smithsonian
West" (University of Nebraska State Museum). She had just
finished inventorying the 320 drawers of scarabaeines at the
USNM for a searchable database when she was diagnosed
with cancer in December 2004. She passed away on 20 August
2005.
Nancy was born in Pensacola, FL on 21 April 1958. She spent
her first 20 years growing up in Fort Walton Beach, FL
where she graduated from Choctawhatchee high school in
1976 and Oskaloosa-Walton Community College with an AA
degree in 1978. From there she transferred to Lookout Mountain
College, GA, graduating with a BA degree in biology in 1981.
She was a teacher/naturalist at the Chattanooga Nature Center
and the first teacher/naturalist at Landmark Park in Dothan,
AL. In 1983, Nancy started her career in the Entomology Department
at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural
History. During her years there, she enjoyed collecting
trips to Canada, Peru, and Trinidad. On her own, she enjoyed
visiting insect collection in London, Mexico, Hawaii and dozens
of university collection in the continental U.S. learning
from and sharing with colleagues techniques on insect collection
management and data and transaction management. She also
enjoyed having two catalogues published on parts of insect collection
she managed. She has at least eight insects named for her. Nancy
was one of the principal "go-to" people at the National
Museum responsible for scarabs. She will be missed. |