Deering Estate and Vizcaya friend and benefactor Nancy Hoskinson McCormick passed away on Feb. 18. Mrs. McCormick was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Deering McCormick, grandson of Charles Deering and great nephew of James Deering.
Her commitment to supporting the legacy of the Deering-McCormick family in Miami was felt acutely at both the Deering Estate and at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
“Mrs. McCormick frequently visited Vizcaya and enjoyed observing its evolution as a public museum,” said Dr. Joel Hoffman, executive director of Vizcaya. “Going back to 1950 she played a formative role in organizing a National Geographic expedition to Vizcaya, which resulted in a groundbreaking article on the estate shortly before it opened to the public.
“In recent years, Mrs. McCormick made a wonderfully generous bequest to Vizcaya in honor of her husband — and this will support preservation and programming that benefit the Miami-Dade community for years to come,” he said.
“I delighted in listening to the many charming, informative and often humorous stories Mrs. McCormick would tell when we visited,” said Mary Pettit, executive director of the Deering Estate Foundation. “She eagerly shared her passion for history, as well as the arts, and always spoke so highly of her family and friends.
“We will forever be grateful for the significant bequest she also made to the Deering Estate honoring her late husband, personally emphasizing the great importance of caring for the historic homes and sharing the rich history of the estate with the community.”
A memorial for Nancy Hoskinson McCormick took place on Feb. 22 at Stanfill Funeral Home in Miami.
