Mark Theodore Gilderhus

Mark T. Gilderhus, a professor of U.S. diplomatic history, died at his home in Fort Collins on Thursday, January 22, of cancer.

Gilderhus was born on November 15, 1941 in Rochester, MN. He earned a BA in History from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1963, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Nebraska on June 3, 1968. He taught at Colorado State University for 29 years, serving as the Chair of the History Department from 1980 to 1993.

Professor Doug Yarrington, currently the Chair of CSU's History Department remembers that, "Mark developed the department's first classes in historiography, U.S. military history, and U. S. women's history. As chair of an all-male department in the 1980s, he created and taught the latter course when student demand for women's history was growing but the university was slow to create a faculty position dedicated to that field. He also made important contributions to the Elderhostel program at CSU.

In 1997, he accepted the Lyndon Baines Johnson Chair in History at Texas Christian University where he served in this capacity until his retirement in 2010. Professor William Beezley, a colleague, close friend, and partner in crime said, "Mark Gilderhus in a career spanning more than four decades established himself as one of the leading historians of U.S.-Latin American diplomacy, military history, and historical methodology. Especially in diplomatic history, he shifted the focus from the exchange of official dispatches to the actions of individuals who shaped policies and implemented them. Also in his work on war and the military, he examined the face of battle, meaning the actions of those on the ground in harm's way. His determination to write about individuals revealed that as a scholar as well as a teacher he cherished men and women and their experiences in the past.

Professor Mark Stoler, a colleague, close friend, and fellow Blues lover, said, "Mark was one of the most highly regarded historians of U.S. relations with Latin America in the country--so much so that he was elected to the vice-presidency and presidency of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations in 1995-96 and held the prestigious Johnson endowed chair at Texas Christian University after he left Colorado State, where for many years he chaired the History Department. He was also deeply interested in the teaching of history on both the graduate and undergraduate levels and beloved as well as highly respected by many of his students--and by his colleagues. His longevity as chair of the History Department at CSU, his holding of the Johnson chair, and his election as SHAFR president all stand as evidence of that.

Gilderhus was the author of numerous articles and books, including Diplomacy and Revolution: U.S.-Mexican Relations Under Wilson and Carranza (1977); Pan American Visions: Woodrow Wilson and the Western Hemisphere, 1913-1921 (1986); The Second Century: U.S.-Latin American Relations Since 1889 (1999); and History and Historians (2009), which is in its 7th edition.

Mark loved jazz, cowboy movies, and stompin' to the blues. He had a wonderful sense of humor, a generous spirit and was a kind colleague and friend. He was a loving husband, brother, and father.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Gilderhus, of Fort Collins, and his two daughters: Kirsten Gilderhus, of Fort Collins; Lesley Jones, of Fort Collins; and three grandchildren Della Fisher, and Morgan and Jake Jones. He also is survived by a sister, Susan Zakeer, of Blaine, Minnesota.

Memorial donations may be made to Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) with a note in memory or honor of Mark Gilderhus, and sent to Professor Peter Hahn, Executive Director of SHAFR, Department of History, Ohio State University, 106 Dulles Hall, 230 West 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 21 at the Columbine Room in the Lincoln Center, Fort Collins at 3:30 pm.