Damaris Pease

Narratives submitted by Alyce Glenn, Janet Fanslow, Sedahlia Crase, Kathryn Madera Miller, Sam Clark and Dahlia Stockdale.

Damaris Pease was born on October 21, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan. Raised in Ohio, she graduated from Conneaut Senior High School in 1939. She received a B.S. in home economics education from The Ohio State University in 1944. She did graduate work at the Merrill-Palmer Institute from 1944-1945 and received an M.S. in child development from The Ohio State University in 1946. From 1946-1948 she was an instructor in the Department of Home Economics at the University of Kansas; from 1948-1950 she was an instructor in the Department of Home Economics at Ohio University. In 1950 she went to Cornell University and from 1950-1953 she was a graduate assistant in the College of Home Economics at Cornell. She received her Ph.D. in child development and family relations from Cornell University in 1953. She came to Iowa State College in 1953 as an assistant professor in the Department of Child Development.

Dr. Pease taught in the areas of social development, parent-child relations, guidance, and motor development. Her research centered on the socialization process, motor performance, and parent-child relations. She had an appointment in the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station and was the Iowa leader for two North Central Regional Projects. In 1958 she received her first extramural funding for her noncontinuous mothering research project. This was followed by numerous extramural and university-funded research projects. She supervised 24 Ph.D. students and 33 Masters students to successful completion. She was director of the graduate program in the Department of Child Development until her retirement in 1987.

Dr. Pease co-authored along with Glen Hawkes the textbook "Behavior and Development from 5-12." She was also author or co-author of 21 articles in refereed journals, four chapters in books, one laboratory notebook, and seven behavioral tests and accompanying manuals. She had numerous invited and/or juried presentations at professional meetings and consulted with a variety of academic programs, professional organizations, and companies across the nation.

In 1968 Dr. Pease was voted by students in the College of Home Economics as Teacher of the Year at Iowa State, in 1969 she was awarded a Faculty Citation, and in 1970 she was named a Mary B. Welch Distinguished Professor in Home Economics at Iowa State. In 1972 she received a Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University. She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Nu, Phi Upsilon Omicron, and Pi Lambda Theta.

Dr. Pease was active in the American Home Economics Association (AHEA), having served on the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, chairperson and secretary of the Family Relationships and Child Development Section, the "Home Economics Research Journal" Editorial Board, a technical consultant to the Journal of Home Economics, chairperson of the Center for the Family, and a member of numerous accreditation site visit teams. She was active in the Iowa Home Economics Association as well serving in various leadership roles. In 1984 she was named by the American Home Economics Association as one of their 75 ABEA leaders, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the American Home Economics Association.

During her career, her heart was with the College of Home Economics and the Department of Child Development at Iowa State. She shepherded the department’s graduate program through rough times and was outspoken, determined, relentless, and positive in her vision for the department. Her commitment to her profession, her colleagues, and her students was legendary.

Damaris was a person of many interests and hobbies. Included among her interests were the breeding and raising of tropical fish; the designing and making of jewelry with the semi-precious stone thomsonite; the making of various woodworking projects; and the study and analysis of her investment portfolio. Each of these was pursued with boundless energy and unfailing enthusiasm.

The academic preparation that Damaris had in the socialization process was well used in her interpersonal relationships. She was an astute observer of people and knew when to intercede when her friends were uncomfortable. Damaris loved children and her conversations and gifts to them were designed to stimulate their intellect and creativity as well as to foster their current interests. Her sensitivity to the needs of others and willingness to help during times of unusual demands made her a cherished friend. Damaris is sorely missed by those who knew her well.

She died as a result of an auto accident on November 3, 1991, in Barnum, Minnesota. A final tribute to the home economics profession was the bequeathing of her estate to the College of Home Economics at Iowa State University; these funds were used to create an endowment with the interest being used for scholarships for graduate students in the college.

-Alyce, Glenn and Janet Fanslow

Ames, IA