Obituary of R. Gregory Deming

Our dad, R. Gregory Deming, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at Reston Hospital Center in Reston, VA on Friday, January 29, 2016. Dad was born in Little Falls, NY on September 22, 1949 to Elizabeth Deming, retired social worker and former Alderman in Little Falls, and Joseph Royce Deming Sr., who was a veteran of WWII and a printer for 33 years at the Little Falls Evening Times. Dad graduated Salutatorian from St. Mary’s Academy in 1967, which he attended for his primary and secondary education. He then followed his ambitions of becoming an artist and enrolled at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY where he studied Fine Arts and graduated in 1973. In his own words, “Living in NYC in the late 60’s was a very exciting & challenging experience.” During this time he started his study of metaphysics, esoteric philosophy, alchemy, and psychic phenomenon. He returned to Little Falls in 1972 where he created and ran the Fallout Shelter, a youth arts center, until 1976. In 1974 he married our mother, Mary Louise Gower, also from Little Falls, NY. In 1978 Dad sold his beloved comic book collection and took Mom and their two daughters, Jennifer (born 1976) and Alison (born 1978), to Gainesville, FL, to pursue his MFA at the University of Florida, which he received in 1980. “The years in Florida were Heaven.” I’m guessing he felt this way because, A. Dad loved hot weather and B. Florida is the home of Disney World, which was pretty much his favorite place on earth. While in Florida, Dad started his research into the metaphysical and spiritual influences in 20th Century Art. Upon his graduation from the University of Florida in 1980 he took a position at Louisiana State University of Eunice, LA where he taught, among other things, Art History, Photography, Painting, and Drawing. Dad never really took to Louisiana, “Living in Louisiana was like living in a foreign country!” During our time in Louisiana Dad started to exhibit his paintings regionally and nationally. While in Louisiana he and Mom also had two more children, Galen (1983) and Justin (1985). There were multiple road trips from Louisiana to Little Falls during our childhood, before the days of SUVs and Mini Vans, where he kept us entertained playing “road trip bingo”, the alphabet game and “punch buggy”. One of these was in 1985 when Dad had the privilege of participating in a National Endowment Summer Seminar at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, advancing his research in 20th Century Art, focusing on the works of Marcel Duchamp. After 8 years in Louisiana, in 1988, Dad took an Assistant Professorship at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM, where he ended up teaching for 6 years. In the fall of 1991 Dad lost his wife, Mary, and we our mother, as she lost her battle with cancer. Soon after, Dad was invited to join a delegation of art educators as a Citizen Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, giving him the chance to spend a few week travelling around China and Japan. In 1994 Dad moved the family to Virginia Beach, VA and in 1995 he was invited to join the faculty at Atlantic University, which was founded by Edgar Cayce. It was here that he developed the Transpersonal Art Concentration which was based on his nearly 30 decades of study regarding the spiritual dimension for the creative process, for the school’s MA program. He was also a featured columnist for “Visions Magazine for the Arts” between 1998 and 2001. Dad spent the last few years teaching at the Art Institute in Sterling, VA, where he was greatly loved. He was currently living with his sister, Lisha (Deming) Glinsman, in Herndon, VA, with whom he was very close and had many fun adventures with, including a trip to Amsterdam. Dad was a very passionate and creative person, who inspired and challenged his students on their journeys to follow their passions. He was loved and he will be missed. Dad is survived by his children: Jennifer Deming, Alison Deming-Burden, Galen Deming, Justin Deming. His grandchildren: Dagon Rodabaugh and Evan Burden. His mother: Elizabeth Deming. His siblings: Marsha Watson, Joseph Royce Deming, Jr., and Lisha Glinsman. His Aunt: Anna Seifried. Dad is predeceased by his wife: Mary (Gower) Deming and his father Joseph Royce Deming, Sr. Calling hours will be held at the Enea Family Funeral Home located at 24 West Monroe St., Little Falls, NY on Saturday, February 6, 2016 from 4-6pm. His Memorial service will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday at the funeral home following the calling hours. Greg’s funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Funeral Directors Harry J. and Kevin E. Enea of the Enea Family Funeral home, Little Falls (315) 823-2424. To leave an online note of sympathy, please visit www.eneafamily.com on the Internet.