Joan TePaske Mark died at the age of 78 on Tuesday, July 28th in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, of complications from a myeloprolific disorder. She was born in Le
Mars, Iowa, in 1937 to Henry J. and Forest M. TePaske. She grew up in Orange City,
Iowa, where in 1955 she was named Tulip Queen for the Orange City Tulip Festival.
In 1959 she received her B.A. from the University of Iowa, married Edward L. Mark,
and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they raised two children, Jonathan
and Jessica. Joan received her Ph.D. in the History of Science from Harvard
University in 1968, specializing in the history of anthropology. She wrote six books:
Four Anthropologists: An American Science in its Early Years (1976); With the Nez
Perces: Alice Fletcher in the Field, 1889-1892 (co-edited, 1981); A Stranger in her
Native Land: Alice Fletcher and the American Indians (1989); The King of the World in
the Land of the Pygmies (1995); Margaret Mead: Coming of Age in America (1999);
and The Silver Gringo: William Spratling and Taxco (2000). She was a Research
Fellow and Associate in the History of Anthropology at the Peabody Museum of
Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard for 40 years. After she gave up writing
books, she became an accomplished painter. Joan loved music, theater, and travel
and was co-chair of PEN New England, a board member of the Wellfleet Harbor
Actors Theater, and a strong supporter of Emmanuel Music. She was a warm and
gracious hostess of dinner parties and many church open houses. Joan is survived
by her husband, her twin brother Gerald H. TePaske, her younger brother John D.
TePaske and sister Jean E. TePaske, her children Jonathan H. Mark and Jessica L.
Mark Welch, and their spouses and children, including her grandchildren Irene
Marie Sakson, Daniel Edward Mark Welch, and Andrew John Mark Welch. A
memorial service will be held on Tuesday, August 4 at 11:00 a.m. at the HarvardEpworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Mass. Ave. in Cambridge. Donations in her
memory may be made to Food For Free, 11 Inman Street, Cambridge, MA 02139.