Fonds - Mary Jane Gormley fonds

Mary Jane Norris Gormley was a copy editor, calligrapher, and prominent member of the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH).

Born on March 3, 1940, in Milton, Massachusetts, Gormley attended the Milton Academy in the greater Boston area for her elementary and high school education. She then completed an honors degree at the University of Toronto in History and Philosophy in 1961. After her graduation, she spent a year working for the Catholic missions in Angleton, Texas.

In 1965, she and her husband Dexter Gormley moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where she worked at the Indiana University typing up dissertations for graduate students and faculty members. Her typing experience lead to her pursuing a career as a copy editor for Indiana University Press, and then later, the Journal of American History, where she worked at until medical issues forced her retirement in late 2005.

Due to her difficulty breathing caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Gormley came up with the idea of using a harmonica to exercise her lungs and strengthen them. Accordingly, she became a member of SPAH to promote a general appreciation for harmonicas as musical instruments but also as potential medical aids.

Mary Jane Gormley died on December 9, 2022.