Nina Meyer, a longtime resident of Edgartown and Boston, died on Dec. 5, 2022 after a bout with dementia. She was 85.

She was an architectural historian, advocate for cities and devout reader.

She was born in Bangor, Me. as one of six daughters born to Jacob and Miriam Rolnick. She attended Radcliffe College.

She met her late husband Bill while teaching in Connecticut. They went on to live in several small cities in the northeast before settling in Boston in the mid-1970s.

Nina earned her PhD in History from Boston University and started Historic Neighborhoods Foundation, a nonprofit that sought to teach people the values of urban life. She worked closely with author Robert McCloskey to develop Ducklings Day in Boston, which celebrated the route of the famous mallards in his book Make Way For Ducklings. Historic Neighborhoods pioneered other projects such as City/Build and Just Around the Corner to teach young people the value of cities through walking tours and hands-on learning.

She was an early advocate for women’s rights and championed women’s capacity to have both a career and the ability to raise a family.

She was always reading books, The New Yorker and doing her New York Times crossword puzzle.

She and Bill came to Edgartown in the early 1980s and quickly fell in love with Island life. She became a seasonal resident of Edgartown in 1983. She tended to her garden, advocated for affordable housing and was an active participant in local book clubs. She was also a fan of classical music, local artists and an ardent lover of Chilmark Chocolates.

Later in life, she conducted extensive research on the architect Emily Muir and moved to New York city to be closer to her son and grandchildren. She treasured living in a Frank Gehry-designed building in Manhattan and taking walks through the city’s neighborhoods.

Nina is survived by her daughter Heidi of Somerville, son Larry and his wife Tracey of Santa Rosa, Calif., son Jed and his wife Julie of Brooklyn, N.Y., and her granddaughters Veronica and Natalie.

She was interred in West Tisbury. A memorial gathering will be held on the Island at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the West Tisbury Library Foundation and Island Grown Initiative/Island Food Pantry.