Obituary of Denise-Powers Thomas

THOMAS, DENISE POWERS, age 52, beloved daughter of Dee Anne Bonsib Thomas and the late James Akin Thomas, Jr., and beloved sister of James Akin Thomas III, Dee Anne Thomas, and the late Marcia Bonsib Thomas, passed from this life on August 2, 2003. Until health issues forced Denise into early retirement more than a decade ago she was one of a rarified few art conservators through whose restorative hands passed some of the most well- known pieces of art in the world, among them works by the Early American portrait painter William Williams, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Joan Miro, John Marin, Paul Klee, as well as numerous Italian old masters (a favorite of hers). Denise graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley College in 1973 and in the same year was also a Wellesley College Scholar. She continued her post-graduate studies at Wellesley and at the Winterthur Program in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works at the University of Delaware, where she received her M.S. in Paper, Paintings, and Photography Conservation in 1978. Denise began her career as Assistant Paper Conservator for the privately owned Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, where she worked with Marilyn Kemp Weidner, renowned Conservator of Works of Art on Paper. At the time of her retirement from thefield of art conservation, Denise was Conservator of Works of Arton Paper at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and her reputation as a top Conservator was worldwide. Denise possessed a brilliant mind, keen observation, and extraordinary abilities that were highly regarded within the field of conservation. During her years as Paper Conservator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, she excelled in many meaningful ways, including: carrying out in-depth technical examinations to determine the artist's working methods, collaborating with curators to authenticate works of art, developing new treatment techniques to stabilize the condition of a work of art or improveits appearance, and teaching a number of post- graduate interns. As she became particularly interested in the Asian scrolls and screens under her care, she took a course in scroll mounting and later traveled to Japan to tour paper making workshops and visit prominent scroll mounting studios. In all aspects ofpaper conservation, her professional opinions and conservation treatments remain highly respected. When others examine works of art that had passed through Denise's hands, her reports are always consulted and heavily considered. In many ways, Denise's thoughts, insights, and touch linger in thousands of written words and on hundreds of prints, drawings, photographs, pastels, scrolls, and screens at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Denise was a devoted practitioner of yoga, a lover of nature, and a supporter of environmental conservation. She played apivotal role in the creation of what is now Philadelphia's city wide recycling program. Denise was unassuming, present, and sweet- natured. Those who met her, even briefly, were touched by her gentle, compassionate spirit. Denise had a great love of children and volunteered at a daycare center where her contact with the children there restored her spirit and reminded her of her own healthy, vitality-imbude childhood. Appropriately, her body now rests near that of an infant boy at a some what Zen-like grave site at the edge of a canopy of leaves provided by an ancient tree. The site is lit by morning sun and blanketed by afternoon shade. Some people write their names in our hearts with in delible ink. Denise was one of these rare and precious people. What God has planted in each soul will sprout. --Rumi Interment was at Parklawn Memorial Park, 12800 Viers Mill Road, Rockville, MD in The Garden of the Way, Block 3A, Lot 176, Site 4. A memorial service was held at the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church on August 9th.