In Memoriam: Mary Ann Scherr, 1921-2016

Mary Ann Scherr, an artist, designer, and educator died at her home in Raleigh, North Carolina on March 1. She was 94 years old.

Scherr grew up in Akron, Ohio, and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art with a degree in industrial design. After a brief stint as a designer for Ford Motor Company, Scherr and her husband formed a design firm that became known throughout the world, specializing in household items.

She began her academic career in 1951 in the graduate program in metals in the art department at Kent State University in Ohio. There she specialized in the development of jewelry that also served as health monitoring devices. After moving to New York, in 1979 Scherr took a faculty position in the product design department at the Parsons School of Design.

In 1989, at the age of 68, Scherr moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where she taught at Duke University, Meredith College, and North Carolina State University.