Paleonet: Dr. Jean Demouthe

[argo at u.washington.edu]

Pardon the blanket post but I knew her professionally for those four decades.  Some of us get medals and honors. But many of us - most of us - advance our science just as significantly in relative anonymity. Peter thank you for that post. Peter Rodda was one of my mentors and he too put the Academy onto the path to the fantastic shape it is in now. Our history counts. It is made by our people.

On Fri, 27 Oct 2017, Peter Roopnarine wrote:

> Dear colleagues,
> 
> It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Dr. Jean Demouthe, Senior Collections Manager of Geology at the
> California Academy of Sciences. Jean had been battling illness for the past two years, and several weeks ago took a turn for the
> worse. She passed away peacefully at home, on Friday October 20th, 2017, surrounded by her family and several friends.
> 
> Jean worked at the Academy for 44 years, first as a curatorial assistant, and later the collections manager of the geological
> collections. Her responsibilities included management of the paleontology, micropaleontology, diatom, mineralogy, and meteorite
> collections. She was hired by Dr. Peter Rodda, then Curator of Paleontology, and at the time of her interview informed him that
> if we hired her it would be permanent, we would not get rid of her. We never did. Anyone who worked with Jean knew that she was
> a model of dedication to collections, geology (particularly minerals), and the science of collections care and management. Her
> knowledge of specimen care is unsurpassed.
> 
> In addition to her role at the Academy, Jean was a licensed geologist in the state of California, and worked as a consulting
> engineering geologist in San Mateo County, at one time. serving as County Geologist there. After earning her Bachelors in
> Geology from Humboldt State, she earned a Masters in education at CSU Bakersfield and an EDD at UC Berkeley. Late in her career
> she taught courses at City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. She was a member of several
> organizations and an officer in some, including the Society for Mineral Museum Professionals and the Society for the
> Preservation of Natural History Collections. She authored several works, a recent one being
> 
> Natural materials: Sources, properties, and uses, by Jean Frances DeMouthe. (2006). Burlington, MA: Architectural Press.
> ISBN-13: 978-0750665285
> Jean was at the same time a fierce, honest, and generous person, with a unique (and good) sense of humour. She was mentor to
> undergraduate and graduate students, curatorial assistants, and fellow collections managers. The many visiting researchers to
> our collections can testify to Jean's willingness to do everything within her powers to assist our guests. She was dear to the
> hearts of her colleagues in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology, including my fellow curators Drs. Terry Gosliner,
> Rich Mooi and Gary Williams, emeritus curator Dr. Peter Rodda, former curator and executive director Dr. Patrick Kociolek, and
> her fellow collections managers Dr. Robert Van Syoc and Ms. Christina Piotrowski. The Geology section has been reduced very
> rapidly to myself, my lab, and Jean's curatorial assistant Miss Maricela Abarca. We will miss her terribly. She kept me honest.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Dr. Peter D. Roopnarine, Curator of Geology
> Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology
> Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability
> California Academy of Sciences
> 55 Music Concourse Drive
> Golden Gate Park
> San Francisco CA 94118
> 
> Phone: (415) 379-5271
> FAX: (415) 379-5732
> WWW: https://www.calacademy.org/staff/ibss/invertebrate-zoology-and-geology/peter-roopnarine
> Twitter: @peterroopnarine
> Blogs: http://www.calacademy.org/blogs/
> http://proopnarine.wordpress.com
> "If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize", R. Feynman
> 
>