Nancy Freeman Dow

Nancy Dow, the face behind the camera in the Geographers on Film series, died September 16, 2005, at age seventy-five. Since 1982, she worked with her husband Maynard Weston Dow as chief videographer, technician, and clerk for the series, helping to produce a unique archival resource that contributes understanding to the intellectual history of geography. Filming interviews of distinguished geographers from around the world, usually in hotel rooms at AAG Annual Meetings, she graced the occasions with hospitality, humor, and professional dignity. For her meritorious service, she earned a special citation from the Task Force on Women in Geographic Education in 1996. In 2002, the Michigan State University Library established the “Maynard Weston Dow and Nancy Freeman Dow Geographers on Film Collection” to preserve the original films and videotapes, and to maintain the collection as a teaching resource and research archive.

Born and raised in Portland, Maine, Dow earned a bachelor’s degree in Art from Smith College. She was a resident of Bristol, New Hampshire for thirty-three years.

Nancy Freeman Dow (Necrology). 2005. AAG Newsletter 40(10): 54.