Who was Walter Mondale's wife Joan Adams Mondale? Love story with former Second Lady fondly called 'Joan of Art'
Former vice president Walter F Mondale died on Monday, April 19, at 93. He served under Jimmy Carter as the vice president from 1977 to 1981. During his time in office, his wife, Joan Adams Mondale, the Second Lady, came to be known as "Joan of Art."
Mondale's wife Joan Adams Mondale was a familiar and known face in the art scene, seeing that she campaigned for government support towards the arts. She died in 2014, at the age of 83. She was battling Alzheimer's disease at the time of her death.
After her death, the former vice president had said, "We are grateful for the expressions of love and support we have received. Joan was greatly loved by many. We will miss her dearly."
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Who was Joan Adams Mondale?
Born Joan Adams on August 8, 1930 in Eugene, Oregon, she was the daughter of Presbyterian minister Rev John Maxwell Adams and Eleanor Jane Hall. The couple had three daughters together.
Joan attended the Media Friends School, in Media, Pennsylvania, a public school in Columbus, Ohio and St Paul Academy and Summit School in St. Paul, Minnesota. She later went to Macalester College in St Paul. Post her graduation, she worked at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
How did the couple meet?
Her husband's autobiography recounts how the couple met and the story is an endearing one. It was Joan's sister, Jane who set them up. An article by MPR News recounted the same. "Jane said, 'Would you like to go out with us?' and I said, 'Sure.' And she said, 'Whom would you like to be your escort?' and I said, 'Well, Fritz Mondale,'" Joan said. "But I never thought I'd meet him. I mean, that was a big deal."
For the pair, it was love at first sight. "I remember once we went down the St. Croix River -- that is when I fell in love with that. Joan and I canoed down there," he said. "I was always going to political meetings, and she came along with me for a lot of those." He added. The pair tied the knot in 1955 after just seven dates. Mondale was initially worried that Joan's father would object, seeing that he was the chaplain at Macalester College, where he had an "iffy record of attendance at chapel, where they kept records."
But he gave the couple his blessings. The couple went on to have three children -- Ted Mondale, a Minnesota politician and former State Senator, Eleanor Jane Mondale Poling, a television and radio personality and William Hall Mondale, who was the Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Minnesota Attorney.
Why was she known as 'Joan of Art'?
An accomplished potter, Joan worked at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Minneapolis Institute of Art and later at galleries. She moved to Washington in 1964 when her husband became a senator and she led guided tours at the National Gallery. As the Second Lady, she used this opportunity to convert the Vice Presidential Mansion into a gallery of American art, featuring works of Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Hopper, Louise Nevelson and Ansel Adams.
She was also the chairperson of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. She was also a published author, having written multiple books, such as "Politics in Art" in 1972, "The Mondale Family Cookbook" in 1984 and "Letters From Japan" in 1998, which were a compilation of dispatches written for a Minneapolis newspaper during her time spent in Japan.
As reported by the Washington Post, Joan spoke about her role in the field of art. "I felt what I could do was encourage audiences, appreciate audiences," she said. "I was an appreciator. I was a consumer. I’m not a critic. I’m not an art historian. But what I could do was sort of say thank you to the arts community," she added.