We are saddened with the loss of a long time member of our community Nurhan Taşdemiroğlu (82). As TACAM BoDs, we are sending love, thoughts, and prayers to her family during this tough time.
Nurhan and her family were among the founding members of TACAM and one of the families who acquired the our current property at Wixom. Along with her family Nurhan was a committed supporter of the Turkish-American community and served in the TACAM board of Directors between 1987 and 1990.
Funeral services will take place on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Visiting hours will be 11 A.M to 12:30 P.M. at A.J. Desmond and Sons (in Troy on Crooks Rd) funeral home with a brief program from 12:30 P.M. to 1 P.M., followed by a funeral procession at White Chapel Cemetery and private family reception at 2:30 P.M.
We extend our most sincere condolences to his family and friends. Below, you can find the full obituary released by the family.
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Our loving and beautiful mother, Nurhan Taşdemiroğlu (born Ata), passed away February 28, 2023.
Born September 16, 1940 in Samsun Türkiye, Nurhan was the fifth of six siblings. A passion for fashion, design, and art started early for Nurhan. As a teen and young woman, she attended a technical school where she honed her craft, sketching fashion design, and learning to make clothes. She was a natural designer with a keen eye for high-fashion and had a very precise and delicate hand as a dressmaker with high-style and an exquisite attention to detail. During this time, she also would model her designs and other local fashions and eventually created an atelier in her hometown making custom designed clothing for others.
In 1968, she would take her first trip overseas to visit her older brother Nuri in Detroit. It was during this time, she met Server Taşdemiroğlu at a local Turkish community gathering. While she returned to Türkiye to resume her fashion designs, she eventually would return and marry Server in 1972. Soon after, she had fraternal twin children, Deniz and Cihangir, who would be a huge center of her life. Through her loving support, she encouraged them to focus on their schoolwork, and taught them the importance and value of friendships and always showing kindness to others.
In addition to her deep passion for fashion and style, she loved home décor, cooking delicious Turkish meals, and centered her life around the Turkish American community in Detroit and her friendships with her many wonderful friends that she cherished deeply. Her greatest joy was her children, and her grandchildren, and step grandchildren.
Another part of her life that she cherished deeply was her siblings, particularly her beautiful younger sister Niven who lived in Berlin, Germany and her older brother Nuri, a former professional Turkish soccer player who lived in Michigan with his wife Hatice and their children.
Nurhan also cared deeply for her in-laws, especially Server’s late brother Nihat, his wife Cheryl and their children in Texas. Over the past eighteen years, her commitment was to her grandchildren. She was a proud and supportive grandmother, helping Evan and Lila after school, cheering on Evan for his achievements in golf and tennis, and applauding with great pride at Lila’s dance recitals and music programs. She would travel frequently to Portland, Oregon, caring for her granddaughters Ayşe and Ayla, walking them home from school, planning and hosting their birthday parties, and teaching them how to draw and sew, sharing Turkish family recipes, and enjoying their ballet performances.
At her heart always was her love for her hometown Samsun and her family. She was a devoted daughter, dedicated sister and loving aunt.
Nurhan is predeceased by her husband Server, her parents Ilve (mother) and Harun (father) Ata, and siblings Mustafa, Muzaffar, Mevlüde, Nuri, and Nevin. Nurhan is survived by her daughter Deniz (Austin), and her son Cihangir (Kimberlyn), and grandchildren Ayşe and Ayla (Deniz), and Evan and Lila (Cihangir). She is also survived by her step grandchildren Candace, Cara and Sean, and niece Ilve and nephew Harun, and many cousins and nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Türkiye.
Funeral services will take place on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Visiting hours will be 11 A.M to 12:30 P.M. at A.J. Desmond and Sons (in Troy on Crooks Rd) funeral home with a brief program from 12:30 P.M. to 1 P.M., followed by a funeral procession at White Chapel Cemetery and private family reception at 2:30 P.M.
In lieu of flowers, donations will be gratefully accepted in support of the Earthquake Relief efforts in Türkiye. You can make contributions to Turkish Philanthropy Funds or Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan (TACAM).
