Marion Naifeh
| Marion Naifeh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
April 11, 1928 Wuhu, China |
| Nationality | American |
| Education |
Wheaton College Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University |
| Occupation | Author |
| Spouse(s) | George Naifeh (m. 1951 – his death, 2006) |
| Children |
Steven Carolyn |
| Website | http://www.marionnaifeh.com |
Marion Naifeh (born April 11, 1928) is an American author and former educator who, with her husband, the late diplomat George Naifeh, represented the United States in diplomatic missions in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia over nearly three decades. As an author, Naifeh has published two books. Her 2003 publication, The Last Missionary in China, was described by noted Harvard University sinologist Ezra Vogel as "a touching, well-written, well-researched account of the life and times of a missionary who died in China in 1951 after 34 years there, by his daughter. Objective, nuanced, broad-gauged" Naifeh's 2016 book, Foreign Service, chronicles her family's life in the U.S. diplomatic corps during the 1950's, 60's and 70's.
Naifeh was born to missionary parents in Wuhu, China, in 1928. Her father, B. W. Lanphear (1886-1951), was headmaster of the St. James Middle School in Wuhu, China. Her mother, Carolyn March (1889-1928), had worked in the YWCA in Tientsin, China. Naifeh's mother died soon after she was born, and she was subsequently raised by two servants in her missionary household.
Although Naifeh had no biological siblings, her father unofficially adopted 16 Chinese children who were orphans or otherwise abandoned, and she grew up with four of them – George, William, Jimmie and Stephen – whom Naifeh considered to be like brothers to her. Naifeh's first language was Chinese; at age three, she is said to have told her father, in Chinese, “Foreign Devil, leave my land!” Naifeh's father sent her to Worcester, Massachusetts, where she was raised by relatives and where she learned English and, eventually, Spanish, French, Russian and Arabic.
Naifeh spent her youth shuffling between boarding schools in China – the American schools in Nanking, Kuling and Shanghai – and Worcester. She graduated from Classical High School in Worcester in 1945 and entered Wheaton College the following year.
Naifeh participated in the first year of the Smith Junior Year Abroad Program, spending a year in Puebla and in Mexico City, where she attended the Colegio de Mexico. She entered the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1949 to study International Economics, graduating with a Master’s degree in 1950.
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