by Russell D. “Tim” White, Yale Peabody Museum (Retired)
At the 2023 SPNHC annual meeting, the Carolyn L. Rose Award was given posthumously to Jean F. DeMouthe, formerly of the California Academy of Sciences. Accepting the award were Jean’s sister and brother, Peggy and Scott DeMouthe.
The 2023 annual meeting was hosted by the Academy in San Francisco, the institution where Jean spent her entire 44-year career working, most recently as the Senior Collections Manager for the geology and paleontology collections. It was felt that the award should be given in San Francisco where her brother and sister reside. It was also heartwarming to present this award at her home institution and to have so many of her former colleagues and friends present. Prior to the presentation of the award, members at the Society’s annual business meeting viewed a heartwarming video of Jean’s activities with testimonials from her colleagues with numerous images through the years.
Jean passed away on October 20, 2017, but many of our members felt it was important to recognize her impact on the Academy, the geological and natural history communities, and SPNHC, and as a mentor to so many Museum Studies students at San Francisco State University where she lectured. As a senior collection manager at the Academy, Jean’s responsibilities went far beyond preservation and access to the geology and paleontology collections. She was one of the first people to hold the title of Collections Manager at a natural history museum and was well known for promoting the professionalization of collections management worldwide. Jean was also a leading force in promoting preventative conservation at the Academy and in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was the president of the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals and introduced the idea of best practices to that community. She mentored multiple generations of collection professionals at the Academy and at many other institutions, including myself. Her impact was not limited to geology and natural history; many of her San Francisco State Museum Studies students went on to hold positions in art and history museums, such as Annette Van Aken, who is the manager of collections at the Colby College Museum of Art and often credits Jeannie as her mentor in collections management and preventative conservation.
The Carolyn L. Rose Award is our Society’s highest honor and is given to a person whose work and efforts have promoted the values and objectives of the Society. Jean is the ninth recipient of the award. I think we can all agree that the impact Jean Frances DeMouthe has had on SPNHC and the natural history community makes her a very worthy recipient of this award.