Warren Lerner and John Jay TePaske, both long-time and distinguished members of the Duke Department of History, died this month.
TePaske, 77, died December 1. A veteran of the U.S. Army TePaske, was a leading scholar of Spanish colonial America. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University in 1953 and 1959 and joined the Duke faculty in 1967.
His 1982 book The Royal Treasuries of the Spanish Empire in America (co-written with Herbert Klein) was a an elaborate study of the economy and society of the region.
He is survived by his wife, Neomi; daughters, Susan TePaske-King and Marianna Daly; and brother, Robert TePaske. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Lerner, 78, died Dec. 3. He taught at Duke for 45 and was a leading history of Russia and Eastern Europe, ethnic relations in the region and on the history of socialism and communism.
The Department of History issued the following statements Tuesday:
"Warren Lerner was a distinguished scholar, a superb teacher, and a dedicated leader of the Duke history department, which he served as chair from 1985-1990. Lerner's scholarship on the communist revolution was widely recognized. His undergraduate courses at Duke were legendary, attracting hundreds of students drawn to hear Lerner's compelling lectures and bask in the warmth and humor of his personality. As leader of the department, he was always pushing for greater recognition of the quality of his faculty, often ‘dropping in' at the dean's office at the end of the day to promote the department's agenda. (Allegedly, this led to the creation of an informal prize in the dean's office for the best "Warren Lerner drop-by.") Appreciated by students, university colleagues and departmental associates, Warren Lerner helped to make the Duke history department a leader. He will be sorely missed.
"John TePaske's long scholarly career, stretching over almost half a century, saw the publication of 15 books and a far larger number of book chapters and articles in scholarly journals. He pioneered the use of quantitative analysis of seldom-used data, such as treasury account books, to distill new insights into the economic, political, and social history of the Spanish empire in the Americas. His many awards and recognitions, including fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Humanities Center and election as vice president of the Professional Division of the American Historical Association, attest to his stature within the scholarly community.
The qualities that endeared John to his students won him as well the affection and admiration of his colleagues, both at Duke and throughout the Latin American historical community."