JONATHAN PORTER

1938 - 2024

JONATHAN PORTER
Jonathan Porter, Professor Emeritus of Chinese History and Asian Studies at the University of New Mexico, died peacefully at home on March 26, 2024 in Chupadero, a rural community in Santa Fe, after surviving for more than two decades with metastatic prostate cancer. He was 86. Jonathan was born on March 25, 1938 in Boston, to Eliot Furness Porter, a photographer, and Aline Kilham, a painter. In July 1946, the family drove out west to move to Tesuque, New Mexico. Eliot would later write, When we crossed the border into New Mexico, we stopped by the roadside to let the boys release their pent-up excitement, and they ran about like colts first out to pasture. They romped and scampered all over the place with an exuberance that confirmed the wisdom of our decision to come west. Jonathan never lost that sense of wonder and joy of living in Santa Fe, surrounded by mountains, wildlife, and flowing acequias, which would be his home and final resting place.
Jonathan attended Harrington Junior High in Santa Fe for one year before transferring to The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Following family tradition, he went to Harvard University, Lowell House, and received his AB in Astronomy in 1960. As an undergraduate at Harvard, he was introduced to Asian history in Rice Paddies, an introductory course, and to Chinese intellectual history. He was captivated by the narration on China in the nineteenth century and the fascinating juxtaposition of a complex civilization and its decay.
Jonathan would always remember the encouragement and support of his parents in his academic endeavors, particularly when he abandoned the promise of astronomy for history just after Sputnik seemed to open new doors. His father was a good role model, earning chemical engineering and medical degrees from Harvard, only to return to his passion for birds and the natural world and become a preeminent color photographer. Yearning to return west, Jonathan began his graduate research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, completing his MA in Chinese History in 1963, then on to advanced graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley, earning his PhD in Chinese History in 1971. His doctoral program included two years (1967 - 1969) of immersive Chinese language study and research in Taiwan.
With the privilege and ability to go anywhere, Jonathan chose to return to New Mexico and accept the offer of a faculty position at the University of New Mexico, where, from 1969 to 2011, he taught Chinese, Japanese, and Asian history, as well as a graduate seminar on historical evidence methods. He was a scholar, teacher, mentor, and administrator for 42 years, serving as History Department Chair, President of the Faculty Senate, and Director of the Asian Studies Program. He taught undergraduate courses on traditional China and revolutionary China, but it was his course on imperial China that represented the core of his scholarly research interest, which intersected with the social history of Chinese science. He was a noted expert on Macau and fluent in Portuguese, authoring four books and seventeen articles on the history of China and Macau. In 1980 and '81, he arranged two extensive trips to China with Eliot that resulted in their collaborative book of text and photographs, All Under Heaven: The Chinese World. In retirement, he continued to learn from his students, many of whom were the first in their family to graduate from college. For more than sixty years, he wrote letters of recommendation for UNM students who went on to serve in our nation's military, diplomatic, and intelligence communities around the world.
Outside of academia, Jonathan was a skilled autocross racer, a self-taught auto mechanic for vintage British cars, and an avid walker, hiking every day in the nearby mesas and dry arroyos with his devoted dogs. He loved animals and often felt more comfortable in their company than with humans. In 2007, Jonathan and Paige moved to Chupadero with their sweet family of rescue horses, dogs, cats, ducks, geese, and a venerable Mexican desert tortoise named Ethel. They loved traveling together throughout Africa to meet with and listen to African-led, community-driven conservation programs funded by the African Wildlife Foundation that they supported.
Jonathan deeply loved every member of his large, extended family, from California to Maine, and his dear friends and esteemed colleagues throughout Asia and Africa. He is survived by his beloved partner Paige Best; brother Stephen Porter (Marcie Porter) of Searsmont, Maine; brother Patrick Porter (April Fair) of Tesuque, New Mexico; nephew Matt Porter (Hannah Whitaker) and grandnephew Enzo of Brooklyn, New York; nephew Will Porter (Taylor Porter) and grandnieces Eliza Porter and Beatrice of Chestertown, Maryland; half-brother Charles Porter of Granby, Connecticut; and his first love, George of Taipei, Taiwan.
Jonathan was preceded in death by his first wife, Zoe Barter Porter; his second wife, Maxine Armstrong Porter; and his half-brother, Eliot Porter, Jr.
Deep gratitude to the wonderful Ambercare hospice nurses for their wisdom and compassion: Lynn, Donna, Jeanie, and Michelle, who came daily to the home to care for Jonathan in his final week.
The family is thankful to the Chupadero community for their abiding love and support to Jonathan.
Appreciation to Amber and the dedicated team at Rivera Funeral Home in Española and Rio Grande Crematory in Los Alamos for upholding the dignity of all who pass away in Northern New Mexico.
Jonathan Porter's Memorial Service will be on Sunday June 23, 2024 at the Porter Best family home in Chupadero at 10:00 a.m.