Janet Maulden Magaldi

Obituary: Kannapolis - Thursday afternoon March 12, 2009, our community lost its foremost preservationist when Janet Magaldi lost her hard fought battle with cancer. Janet was the preeminent authority of our living history in the piedmont region of North Carolina. She was a recognized and talented Interior Designer, but her true passion was Historic Preservation. Her passion for preservation extended beyond beautiful buildings and homes to rural farms and lifestyles and decaying structures that most would consider unsalvageable. She was born May 4, 1943 in Cabarrus County the daughter of the late Lacy W. and Louise Moore Maulden. Janet attended Women's College of NC (UNC-Greensboro) and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts.Her major was Interior Design.She worked with Mrs. Dorothy Baker Billings who was one of Charlotte's leading Interior Designers.They designed rooms for the ASID Designer Houses and for the Southern Living Show.After opening her own interior design business, Janet continued to contribute to the ASID Houses for a number of years. In the early 1970s, when Cabarrus County's 1876 courthouse was threatened with demolition, Janet and a group of other concerned citizens steadfastly worked to save the historic structure. That was the beginning of Cabarrus County's preservation movement and the Historic Cabarrus organization for whom she served as a board member for many years. In downtown Concord many stores and offices now operate from buildings dating back to 1885; Victorian homes have been restored; several museums on local history opened; and many examples of nineteenth century architecture have been preserved. No project was too overwhelming for Janet to tackle. She founded and served as president of Piedmont Preservation Foundation, Inc. to broaden efforts to include all of Piedmont North Carolina. Just a few of the rescues of historic structures resulting from her efforts are the relocation of the Hileman, Rogers, and B. E. Durham houses in Kannapolis as well as the Poplar Tent Presbyterian Manse and the Propst and Cline houses in Concord.She also consulted on the restoration George M. Lore house, also in Concord. She spent many hours and dollars in postage as she tried to save Aycock School from being torn down to make room for the new Kannapolis Post Office.She was very concerned about the preservation of Faith Hall at Barber Scotia and saved the original windows and other artifacts from that project. She also worked tirelessly on the preservation of the student cottages and Main Building at Stonewall Jackson School.Janet possessed a great depth of architectural knowledge unparalleled in the region and was often called upon as an authority to comment on the history and architecture of the area.Janet was a consultant in Kannapolis' restoration of a G. I. House into a museum and she assisted in organizing a tour of Kannapolis' historic homes. Janet was heavily involved in preservation organizations throughout North Carolina including Preservation North Carolina, which awarded her the "Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit" in 1994. She was a founding board member of The Land Trust for Central North Carolina, which conserves historic farms, pristine landscapes and ecological landmarks for future generations. Janet served on the board for nine years and rarely missed a meeting. She devoted hundreds of hours of time lending her wisdom and talent and was awarded a "Top Ten Person" for good works by the Charlotte Observer. Governor Jim Hunt awarded Janet with a "Governor's Award for Volunteerism"; and, in 2004 Janet was recognized by Historic Salisbury Foundation with the Preservation Professional Award.Ed Clement, founder of Historic Salisbury Foundation, stated the Janet was "one of North Carolina's leading activists in preservation of the rural landscape of North Carolina and especially the Piedmont area."One of her friends observed that "Janet was the conscience for many preservation professionals-she never gave up, she never gave in-and held us all to a high standard."Another noted that she was always careful to comment on how much time and work someone else has put in a home or building and that she could help you appreciate something as small as a rose bush she saved from a home that was to be tore down. Janet had many interests.She liked to draw with pen and ink and to paint with both oils and watercolors.She enjoyed music and singing.She was a member of the Women's Chorale and Piedmont Choral Society, both of Concord. Janet had great compassion for animals, both wild and domesticated, and was a volunteer with Cabarrus Animal Protection for many years. She rescued numerous cats and dogs and provided a foster home for some them.It upset her to see the wild animal habitat disappearing and being replaced with shopping centers and housing developments. Visitation will be Saturday March 14 from 6:00 to 8:00 at Whitley's Funeral Home in Kannapolis, N.C. The funeral service will be held at 3:30 PM Sunday March 15 at Whitley's Funeral Home Chapel officiated by Dr. Warren Casiday and Rev. Erin Yow. Burial will follow at Carolina Memorial Park. She is survived by her son Philip Magaldi and wife Beth of Charlotte, her grandson Abram Magaldi, her sister Ashlynn Sides and husband Bill of Kannapolis, her niece Kathy Sides and her great nephew Trey Hartsell. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Piedmont Preservation Foundation Inc. PO Box 3033 Concord, NC 28025 or to the Land Trust for Central North Carolina PO Box 4284 Salisbury, NC 28145-4284 or the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina PO Box 27644 Raleigh, NC 27611-7644. Online condolences may be left at www.whitleysfuneralhome.com.
Visitation: 6:00-8:00 P.M. Saturday, March 14, 2009 Whitley's Funeral Home

Service: 3:30 P.M. Sunday, March 15, 2009 Whitley's Main Chapel

Interment: Carolina Memorial Park Kannapolis, NC