Jesse William Markham, 93, of Friendship, and Longboat Key, Fla., a lifelong professor, died peacefully on Father’s Day, June 21.
Jesse was best known as a wonderful, highly respected teacher, ending his long, devoted career at The Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration which, years after his retirement, honored him with a Distinguished Service Award, proclaiming that his “love of teaching has been legend, his admirers legion, and his publishing prolific – a rich resource to all of Harvard.”
Jessie was born in rural Sharps, Va., on the Rappahannock River, on April 16, 1916. He graduated with high honors from the University of Richmond in 1941 and was considering a baseball career with the Washington Senators when Pearl Harbor changed the plans of his entire generation. He attended Johns Hopkins University’s Foreign Service School from 1941 to 1942 and was thereafter commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He served in the Atlantic theater as a gunnery officer on the USS Augusta, the heavy cruiser acting as the flagship for the Normandy invasion, where he saw combat from the first attack on June 6, 1944.
After leaving the Navy in late 1944 Jesse married Penelope Anton, whom he had met at a USO dance in Portland, and attended Harvard University where he was awarded a Master’s degree (1947) and a Ph.D. (1949) in economics. He began his academic career as an associate professor at Vanderbilt University (1948-52) and in 1953 moved to Princeton University as a Professor of Economics. He joined the faculty of the Harvard School of Business Administration in 1968 and was appointed to the Charles E. Wilson Chair in 1972. He retired from the Harvard Business School in 1982 as a Professor Emeritus, a title he retained until his passing.
Jesse never stood still, constantly enriching his ability to educate and serve. He was appointed to the position of Chief Economist to the Federal Trade Commission (1953-55), was an economic delegate for the European Common Market (now the OEEC) in 1958, served as a Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission in 1974, was a professor at the Carter Center at Emory University (1982-84), and served as a People to People Diplomacy Mission Delegate to the USSR (1989).
Jesse wrote prolifically for 50 years in the fields of industrial organization, marketing, and management. He often said that, among his many publications, he was most proud of the study he collaborated on with his son Jesse, Jr., on the regulation of baseball under the federal antitrust laws, a report later submitted to the United States Congress.
He was an avid tennis player, the luckiest fisherman wherever and whenever he went out, a life-long Red Sox fan, and a wonderful story teller. Jesse lived fully and gave unstintingly to his family and country.
He is survived by Penelope, his beloved wife of 65 years; three children, Elizabeth (Betsy) McLean, John James Emanuel, II, and Jesse William, Jr.; niece, Penny Boling; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral service 11 a.m., Thurs., June 25 at Friendship United Methodist Church, Friendship.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Friendship Library or Friendship Volunteer Fire Dept., Friendship.
An online guest book is available at www.davisfuneralhomenh.com.
Arrangements are by Davis Funeral Home, Nashua, N.H.
