Jean MacLean Spang was raised in Ferndale and went to Lincoln High School - class of 1956. She then went to U of M for a Bachelor's degree in education and to Wayne State University for a Master's Degree Library Science.
Jean spent many summers in Prescott Michigan where her parents were from and had many family members who had farms in that area.
She started work at the Wayne State University's Purdy Library, where she edited transcripts for PhD and Graduate students.
Jean met her Husband, Lothar, while working at the Wayne State Library. He tracked her down after noticing her Mustang in the employee parking area at WSU and asked who owned it. . Lothar was also a Librarian and published numerous articles regarding library science, undoubtedly with help from Jean.
Lothar passed on July 13, 2009 at just 66 years old. Jean mentioned to a reporter once that she had purchased Lothar's burial plot as close to Woodward as she could "so he could watch the Cruise". Wayne State honored him in their newsletter available to read HERE
Jean and Lothar lived in Ferndale for many years and were very active in city events. Lothar's life was memorialized in the July 27, 2009 City Council Minutes item 285 as follows:
Lothar's obituary was included as a resolution "Attachment D" in those same Minutes (shown further below).
Jean was recognized in the City Council Minutes a few times. Primarily for her service on the Library Board from at least 1992 through 2004. She was also on the Library Task Force starting in 1997 that laid the groundwork for exciting library improvements to come. She wrote the early history of the Ferndale Library, available to read HERE.
One thing you will see in every article, including the Library history article noted above, is Jean's dedication to footnotes! Jean served as the editor of the Crow's Nest - our Historical Museum's newsletter. No article would receive her approval without copious footnotes and well-documented sources of information. She greatly improved all writing she reviewed, we miss her talents with every word we struggle to write and hope our omisison of footnotes will be forgiven.
As a volunteer at Ferndale's Historical Museum, since Spring 2003, Jean wrote what seems like hundreds of fascinating articles regarding Ferndale's history. This includes major portions of Ferndale's 85th anniversary publication in 2012 and 90th anniversary in 2017. She enjoyed writing about schools, churches, automobiles, and the Dream Cruise. She was an active member of the Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church and helped write the 2004 publication "Drayton Dimensions in Time 1924-2004 ".
Jean was often a "go-to" person when local media did articles about the Dream Cruise. There are several stories on that topic in the Crow's Nest and online. One example is HERE. Below is a brief interview from an August 2019 Detroit News article: HERE
A fun video of Jean talking about the first Dream Cruise is available HERE
On March 13, 2023 Ferndale's City Council recognized Jean's contributions with a unanimously approved resolution available HERE
Jean's talent for writing, knowledge of Ferndale history, ability to locate any item in the museum, and sense of humor will be forever missed. May her work to preserve and share Ferndale's history live-on forever!
THE PASSING OF LOTHAR SPANG RESOLUTION 2009 - 285 At a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Ferndale, Oakland County, Michigan, held in the Council Chambers at 300 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, Michigan 48220 on the 27th day of July, 2009 The following Resolution was moved by Councilman Galloway, supported unanimously:
Mr. Spang was born on December 14, 1942 in Yugoslavia to Anton and Maria. As a child, he, his mother and siblings were relocated from their farm to northern Germany to escape advancing enemy troops while his father fought in the war. The family later immigrated to Michigan where Mr. Spang attended Wayne State University and the University of Michigan; and He was a librarian at Wayne State University since 1970 and an adjunct professor of Information Sciences. Mr. Spang was a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Library Association, Association for College and Research Libraries, the Michigan Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters and the Michigan Library Association as well as serving as a member of the Wayne State Senate and AAUP. He was a prominent union negotiator who presented grievances on behalf of nearly 2,000 Wayne State staff members; and Mr. Spang worked to improve literacy in Detroit area schools through his initiation of the Chapbook Literacy Project, a program where Wayne State librarians work with K-12 students to create and publish compilations of student artwork and poetry. The program establishes mentor relationships with students in the interest of increasing literacy, decreasing juvenile delinquency and strengthening outreach. Mr. Spang co-authored several works on outreach and partnerships, in 2006, received the Outstanding FaCUlty Award from Educational Accessibility Services; and Mr. Spang was humble, caring and supportive. Many of his students will remember him as a great mentor and inspiring instructor, as well as a gentle spirit. He was well-known for his sense of humor, generosity and interesting stories. His hobbies included reading, especially western novels, as well as fishing, hunting and traveling up north; and Lothar Spang will be missed by many, but especially by his wife of 38 years, Jean; sisters, Ruth Schoenek and Erika (Gary) Fix; brother, Rainer Spang and several nieces and nephews. Therefore, be it resolved that we, Ferndale's elected officials, do hereby extend our Community's condolences to the family of Lothar Spang. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution, duly certified, be forwarded to the ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY |
Unauthorized use or duplication of this material without expressed
and written consent from the Ferndale Historical Society is prohibited.
Revised: May 1, 2023