Joan Mondale, 83, former vice president's wife

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Joan Mondale, 83, who burnished a reputation as "Joan of Art" for her passionate advocacy for the arts while her husband was vice president and a U.S. ambassador, died Monday.

Mrs. Mondale's husband, sons Ted and William, and other family members were by her side when she died, the family said in a statement released by their church. The family had announced Sunday that she had gone into hospice care, but declined to discuss her illness.

An arts lover and an avid potter, Mrs. Mondale was given a grand platform to promote the arts when her husband, then-Sen. Walter Mondale, was elected Jimmy Carter's vice president in 1976.

Carter named her honorary chairwoman of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities, and in that role she frequently traveled to museums, theaters, and artist studios on the administration's behalf. She lobbied Congress and states to boost public arts programs and funding.

She also showcased the work of prominent artists in the vice presidential residence, including photographer Ansel Adams, sculptor David Smith, and painter Georgia O'Keeffe.

Her enthusiasm for the cause earned widespread praise in the arts community, including from Jim Melchert, director of the visual arts program for the National Endowment for the Arts during Carter's administration.

"Your rare fire has brightened many a day for more people than you may imagine," Melchert wrote to her after the 1980 Carter-Mondale reelection defeat. "What you've done with style and seeming ease will continue illuminating our world for a long time to come."

As Carter's No. 2, Walter Mondale was seen as a trusted adviser and credited with making the office of the vice president more relevant. It was natural that his wife would do the same for her role. Vice presidential aide Al Eisele once said of his boss: "It was important to him that Joan not just be the vice president's wife, but his partner."

Mrs. Mondale would later take her cultural zeal overseas when her husband was named U.S. ambassador to Japan during President Bill Clinton's administration. She relished the chance to study Japanese art and give dignitaries clay pots she made as gifts.

 She was born Joan Adams in Eugene, Ore. Along with her two sisters, she moved several times during childhood as their father, a Presbyterian minister, took new assignments. The family finally settled in St. Paul, Minn., where she would earn a degree at Macalester College.

It was the same liberal arts school that Walter attended, but they were a few years apart and didn't meet until 1955, when one of Joan's sisters arranged a blind date. Six months later they were engaged, and they married soon after.