Jehanne Teilhet-Fisk scholar and friend [1]
Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 10:52. Updated on Friday, February 19, 2016 - 15:49.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 18, no. 1, March 2003.
The Tongan community lost a dear friend when Dr. Jehanne Hildegard Teilhet-Fisk passed away in the United States on 28 August 2002 at the age of 63, after fighting a brave battle with cancer.
From 1969-1994 she was a professor at the University of California, San Diego, and later moved to Florida State University where she taught Polynesian and Non-western art history. She was a member of the Pacific Arts Association, Association of Social Anthropologists of Oceania, and the Tongan History Association.
Jehanne dearly loved Tonga and wanted to share the beauty of Tongan culture with her family and friends. She spent many weeks in Tonga with her daughter, Samantha, and dozens of college students who she brought to learn about the islands.
Dr. Fisk published many scholarly articles over the years and was known among her colleagues for her depth and rigor. She began her career with her book about Polynesian symbolism in the work of French painter, Paul Gauguin. Her articles on Tongan arts included a study of ngatu making. In the early 1990’s she worked on traditional clothing, the tao‘vala and kiekie, as well as Tongan grave art, and Tongan beauty pageants. Other topics Dr. Fisk analyzed were masking in Polynesia, Heilala Parades, as well as ivory figurines.
Jehanne will be remembered for her scholarly articles, but more importantly for the contribution she made to the lives of her students. In addition to being a fine teacher, she was a warm, giving, and honorable woman who cared deeply for others. Jehanne led by example and taught all of her students to respect, admire and enjoy the beauty of Tongan culture.
‘Ofa Atu, Jehanne.
Hilary Scothorn