Heinz Ansbacher, 101, Adlerian Psychology Expert, Dies
By HOLCOMB B. NOBLE
Published: June 24, 2006 in the New York Times
Dr. Heinz L. Ansbacher, whose encounters with the psychologist Alfred Adler in 1930, first in a lecture hall and then in a therapy session, led to a lifetime of scholarship devoted to his work, died Thursday at his home in Burlington , Vt. He was 101.His death was confirmed by his son Max.
Dr. Ansbacher, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Vermont, was an authority on the works of Adler, who developed the theory of the inferiority complex and its role in the drive for power. Over 30 years, Dr. Ansbacher wrote a trilogy in collaboration with his wife, Dr. Rowena Ansbacher, in which they analyzed and commented on Adler's works. The books were widely regarded as indispensable in the fields of individual and abnormal psychology. The best known was "The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler," originally published by Basic Books in 1956. It was printed in more than 25 editions and in several languages.
Dr. Ansbacher and his wife were often credited with being more successful at disseminating Adler's theories than Adler was, because they wrote about his work more clearly than Adler did.Dr. Guy J. Manaster, a former editor of The Journal of Individual Psychology, called Dr. Ansbacher a "central figure worldwide in his mission of systematizing, disseminating and advancing Adlerian theory." Dr. Ansbacher was editor of the journal in the 1950's and 60's.
Adler, along with Freud and Jung, was an important force in modern psychology. He eventually broke with Freud, a fellow Austrian, over the predominant role that Freud gave to sexual desire and repression in neurosis and abnormal behavior. Adler, who died in 1937, placed more emphasis on the importance of individuals' relationships to the people around them. Adler believed that it was all but inevitable that feelings of inferiority would develop early in childhood, when the infant, surrounded by adults, feels helpless. The need to compensate for early feelings of inferiority, Adlersaid, could become extreme, stirring a thirst for power and control as ways to stamp oneself as superior. Though his ideas eventually gained wide acceptance, Adler had difficulty translating them into readily comprehensible writings. They were often dense, disorganized and unclear. It was here that Dr. Ansbacher and his wife were able to help.
Heinz Ludwig Ansbacher was born on Oct. 21, 1904 , in Frankfurt , a son of a banker and financier. After completing two years of college, the young man struck out for America in 1924. In New York , he took a job on Wall Street. His first encounter with Adler was in the spring of 1930, when he attended a series of lectures that Adler gave at Columbia University, where he was a visiting professor. Dr. Ansbacher was fascinated, he later recalled, and he was also unhappy with his Wall Street job and had just broken up with a longtime girlfriend. He sought out Adler for counseling at Adler's home at Gramercy Park.
In an account published in 1974, Dr. Ansbacher said Adler had been quick to sense his interest in psychology and suggested a career in it. Dr. Ansbacher enrolled at Columbia and earned his doctorate there. Adler also introduced him to a colleague, Rowena Ripin, who had recently earned her doctorate there. They were married in 1934. She died in 1994. Besides his son Mox, of New York, surviving are three other sons, Benjamin, of Burlingon, NC; Theodore, of White Plains; and Charles, of Cambridge, Mass, as well as seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In World War II, Dr. Ansbacher studied the effectiveness of American propaganda in Europe for the United States Office of War Information. After the war, he started teaching at the University of Vermont , where he stayed for his entire career. He resumed his passion for the ideas of Adler, often recounting his first brush with the pioneer, listening to him at Columbia .
"I have my notes: 'Individual psychology is concerned with how a person looks at himself. How does he want to use his powers,' " Dr. Ansbacher wrote in his 1974 memoir. " 'The 5-year-old has already formed a goal. The question is which is a desirable goal. The goal must be a cooperative one, and the ability to cooperate is the result of proper training. The task of individual psychology is to see which goal a child is headed for, and how he faces the problems of life we all must solve.' "
Tom Beames
1920 - 2005
A well-known citizen of Ladysmith and member of The Island Adlerian Group died 10 October, 2005 . Tom was the founder of this group but his relationship with Adlerian psychology extended back a long way!
Tom was born in Vancouver in 1920 but grew up in interior of British Columbia -- Peace River, Revelstoke, and Penticton among other towns. Early in WW2 he enlisted in the army then later transferred to the navy where he served until he was demobilized in 1945. He then earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees from UBC, a Master of Education from Oregon State University in Corvallis Oregon, and a Master of Arts from the Adler School of Professional Psychologyin Chicago.
A master of the English language, Tom taught English in high schools in Wells and Williams Lake before moving to Lake Cowichiwan to take the position of Special Counsellor. The latter position expanded to the position of Director of Special Education in the Nanaimo school district where he continued until his "retirement". Then he was a Psychologist in Private practice in Ladysmith. He was one of the founding members of the Ladysmith Resource Centre where he was a board member from the start, and continued for the next 13 years as president, vice president and secretary. For many years, he also ran the counselling program.
Soon after his move to Ladysmith, Tom and some other counsellors started and operated a Family Education Centre using Dr.Rudolf Dreikurs' schools as a model. This centre operated until all of the trained counsellors had retired (about 1989). Much of his work during this time involved the training of other counsellors. Some of these "trainees" and others formed the nucleus of the Island Adlerian Group founded by Tom as a continuation of a very loosely organized group of like-minded counsellors living and working in central Vancouver Island . Beames lived in Ladysmith for the last 43 years.
Tom leaves to mourn his wife Mary, son Denys and family, son John and family, daughter Ruth (Brown) and family sister Carol and family, seven grandchildren, nieces and nephews and many friends.
Tom's father was an Anglican priest. Tom was a licensed lay readed in the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia .
The Island Adlerian Group will miss this leader, mentor and special friend. He leaves a big gap in our group to say nothing of the gap in our hearts. Rest eternal, Tom!
Maurice L. Bullard
January 7, 1907 – June 17, 2005
Maurice “Mauri” L. Bullard, a former resident of Covallis for 52 years, died June 17 in Woodburn, where he lived the last four years. He was 98.He was born in Estacada to Benjamin F. Bullard and Clara E. Lacey Bullard. All of his ancestors crossed the plains in covered wagons. His mother’s ancestors arrived in 1852. His father’s ancestors arrived in 1865 on the Philip E. Linn Wagon Train.
He graduated from Estacada High School in 1925, and received a bachelor’s degree in 1931 and a master’s degree in 1949 from Oregon State College. He was an educator and studied psychology. He married Eva E. Kraus on March 18, 1933 at the Kraus farm near Camby, Aurora. During World War II, Maurice was head of training programs for Henry Kaiser organization’s Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. in the Portland , Vancouver area. He was a Corvallis High School industrial arts instructor from 1945 to 1948 and Corvallis High School vice principal from 1949 to 1959. He was director of guidance and special education for the Corvallis school district from 1959 until his retirement in 1972.
He played trombone at Oregon State College in the band, symphony and operetta orchestras. Mauri was the oldest member of the Oregon State University alumni marching band, playing into his mid-80’s. When he was 85, he was singled out of the alumni band at half time at an OSU football game and given recognition. He also played in the Albany Linn-Benton band for 17 years into his late 80’s until, “the music got too fast.”
In his work with Adlerian psychology, he organized the Oregon Society of Individual Psychology. Maurice and Eva published their newsletter with worldwide distribution for 17 years. He served 12 years as the International Association of Individual Psychology treasurer.
Maurice and Eva made many trips to Europe , along with trips to Chins, Canada , Mexico , and most of the United States . In 1970 he built the restaurant building at Sixth and Harrison in Corvallis , which now operates as the fine Tarasco’s Mexican restaurant. He enjoyed woodworking, hunting, fishing, cooking, photography, sports, electronics, travel, and music.
Maurice was a member of Kappa Kappa Psi band honorary fraternity and Epsilon Pi Tau, and Kappa Delta Pi academic honoraries at Oregon State College. He was also a member of the National Rifle Association, the Oregon Society of Individual Psychology and the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology.
He was preceded in death by this wife Eva E. Kraus Bullard in 1993 and his brothers Clarence F. Bullard in 1943, and Merlin A. Bullard in 1997. He is survived by sons, Robert L. Bullard of Woodburn, and James M. Bullard of Portland ; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
CASSEL, PEARL GEORGINA M.ED.
On July 3rd, 2007, age 75, she died of heart failure after a long battle with illness. Teacher, traveler, guidance counselor, author, naturalist, public speaker, patron of our native artists, cruise ship lecturer, photographer, fisherwoman, mother and grandmother. Born in Bengeo, England, Pearl studied science at the Universities of London and Southampton after turning down a scholarship that would have required her to study education. After three years in research pharmacology, her thirst for travel and adventure took her to North America, where she hitch-hiked through 40 states before serendipitously landing a short term teaching position in Toronto. Ironically, the experience discovered a passion for pedagogy that began a 35 year career in which she taught all elementary and high school grades, earned a Masters of Education at the University of Toronto and a Parent Education Diploma, and became a founding director of the Alfred Adler Institute of Ontario. With Dr. Rudolph Dreikurs, a colleague of Adler, she co-authored Discipline without Tears, a teacher and parent guide to managing primary school pupils through understanding motivation, which became an international bestseller translated into several languages. Pearl went on to author Why Kids Jump Over The Moon (Winner of the Elmer Huff Award, Ontario School Counselors Association) and, with co-author Dr. Raymond Corsini, The Challenge of Adolescence (Writers Award, FWTAO) and Coping with Teenagers in a Democracy. The success of her books and her love of helping others resulted in invitations to deliver over 1000 keynote speeches and workshops throughout North America, including most of Canada's major universities and many remote locations where she introduced Adlerian, democracy-based teaching approach to First Nations educators. Pearl developed a deep appreciation for native art and relationships with native artists, including the Hunts in British Columbia and Goyce Kakegamic, for whom she helped to arrange an airlift of his work when his studio was threatened by forest fire. Following her retirement from the public school system, Pearl alternated residences in Toronto, Florida, Victoria and Vancouver and repurposed her skills to guiding and educating adults on cruise ships. Greatly distressed when she became unable to continue cruise ship lecturing, she applied her characteristic determination to find other venues in which to contribute to the community: providing telephone support to the housebound through community care; organizing trips and events for her residence and local clubs; and, in her last year, returning to assist in a local elementary school, which she found as rewarding as any of the experiences in her rich life. Pearl is survived by son Paul and granddaughters Camille and Celeste inToronto and niece Linda in England. A celebration of Pearl's life will take place in the banquet room at 1880 Valley Farm Rd., Pickering, where she lived, on Friday, July 20th from 3:00 to 5:30PM.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Pickering Naturalists, Box 304, Pickering, Ontario. L1V 2R6 or the Adlerian Psychology Association of
British Columbia, 230-1818 W. Broadway Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1Y9
Oscar Carl Christensen
Oscar Carl Christensen 80, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona, passed away August 22, 2008 after a long battle with respiratory problems. He was an unforgettable man - a great husband, father, grandfather and teacher. Not only did he travel the world, demonstrating his work in many countries, but his students became educators, too. Chris was the nucleus of a constantly broadening organization spreading the concepts of encouragement and education.
For all his wisdom and success, Chris remained a consistently easy going friend. His quick wit and positive attitude easily affected all who met him, and we'll forever be appreciative of his belief in us.
Survived by his wife, Mary, of 59 years. Children: Katrin (Roger) Ball, of Sonoita; Karla Ember (Richard Wojcik), Peter (Mary Ann) Christensen; Karen (Barry) Spencer, all of Tucson. Grandchildren: David and Charlotte Ball, Trisha (Gino) Perkins, Amy (Kevin) Cutright, Benjamin (Julie) Radack, Laura Ember, Maren and Anna Christensen, John and Claire Spencer and five great- grandchildren. Sisters: Ardis Christensen and Marne Heiken of Oregon, and several nieces and nephews.
Born to Oscar and Marie Christensen in 1928 in Corvallis, Oregon. Attended grade school and high school in Oregon. After serving in the Navy at the end of WWII, returned to Oregon to attend the University of Oregon and Oregon State. Received his doctorate at the University of Oregon in 1963. Came to the Department of Counseling and Guidance in the College of Education at the U of A in 1967.
Member Beta Theta Pi fraternity and Phi Delta Kappa. Member of many professional organizations including the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology, ICASSI and was a founding member of the Adlerian Society of Arizona. Recipient of many honors and awards in his field.
At his request, there will be no funeral services. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Oscar Christensen Scholarship Fund c/o NASAP, 614 Old W. Chocolate Ave., Hershey, PA 17033.
Dr. Albert Ellis - 35 year NASAP member
Dr. Albert Ellis, the controversial psychologist who revolutionized the field of psychology when he created Rational Emotive Therapy in 1955, died at home on July 24, 2007. His wife, Debbie Joffe was with him. He was 93. He had been seriously ill for more than a year.
Dr. Ellis was born in Pittsburgh on September 27, 1913, and was raised in New York City. He received his M.A. (1943) and Ph.D. (1947) degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University. He practiced psychotherapy, marriage and family counseling and sex therapy for over sixty years. He was the founder of Rational Emotive Therapy, the first of the now-popular cognitive therapies. In later years, he called his creation Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, REBT.
His influence extended into areas other than psychology, including education, politics, business and philosophy. He wrote extensively on the problems the world currently faces, such as terrorism and nuclear weapons.
Until he fell ill at the age of 92 in May 2006, Dr. Ellis typically worked at least 16 hours a day, writing books in longhand on legal tablets, visiting with clients and teaching. Even while seriously ill, he continued to see students at the rehabilitation center where he was recuperating. He even taught from his hospital bed, giving his last two hour workshop to a group of students from Belgium who visited his hospital room on March 29. In addition to pneumonia, he had had a heart attack that morning, but he refused to cancel the meeting.
Humor was an important part of his philosophy and he applied it to his own life challenges, using himself as an example to teach people how to deal with serious adversities. He was also a writer of his unique rational humorous songs. He had said that if he was not a psychologist he would have enjoyed being a composer.
On his 90th birthday, Dr. Ellis listened to congratulatory messages from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. In honor of the occasion, he was given a white silk scarf that had been blessed by the Dalai Lama.
Dr. Ellis is survived his wife and also several nephews. A public memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007.
Della Irwin
For those of you who remember Della, she has been ill with Alzheimers for the past six years and she passed away quietly in her sleep March 24, 2009 in Nelson, B.C. Della was one of the founding members of APABC (then known as BCAAP) in 1973, Edna Nash, Della, Joan List and Mileva Nastich attended their first ICASSI in 1969 in Crete.
Della was a very active member in the association, and worked in the office with other volunteers to prepare for workshops for visiting and local speakers. Our ofice then was at 2525 Manitoba St. Della was Historian for ICASSI for many years and kept records of all the events.
Submitted by Moya Jack, APABC, Vancouver
Betty Meredith
Alton – Betty Meredith spent her life dispensing advice on a variety of subjects, and there could never by any doubt about her credibility.
Meredith, 84, died Wednesday after 45 years of service to the Alton area. She was a guidance counselor in the Alton schools for 10 years and was in private practice as a marriage and family counselor, with her husband, Cam , for 25 years. Marriage advice had to mean something coming from the Merediths, who would have celebrated their 64th anniversary next month.
“I guess we would have been hypocrites if we were giving out advice to couples and then not following it ourselves,” Cam Meredith said Thursday.
It wasn’t always easy, though. The Merediths’ first child, also named Cameron, was born with a mental disability and spent most of his life in institutions. He died in 1997 at the age of 49.
“Sometimes things like that break a couple up,” Betty Meredith said in a 1992 interview with The Telegraph. “It drew us closer together. Camie is a special light in our life. He is everything that is good.”
Drawing from that experience, Betty Meredith became the first director, of the Preschool and Adjustment Center , which later became the William Bedell Achievement and Resource Center for children with special needs.
“Our oldest daughter (Marcia Paetau), got her degree in speech therapy, and our other daughter (Jane Meredith) teaches here in Alton, so I guess all of us were inspired to work with children because of Camie,” Cam Meredith said. “We were living up in Evanston when we moved him to Beverly Farm in 1952 (at age 4).”
The Merediths moved to Alton in 1959, and Cam Meredith was a professor of counseling and educational psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for 20 years. It was after his retirement in 1979 that the couple went into counseling together.
Betty Santee was born and raised in Flint , Mich. , and met Cam Meredith at a church youth group when she was in ninth grade. “I was actually born in Canada , and then we moved down to Michigan ,” he said. “It was love at first sight,” Betty Meredith said in 1992. “I said to (my parents), ‘Mrs. Cameron Meredith. How does that sound?’ My folks laughed and said to go to bed. Little did they know.”
Betty Meredith earned her bachelor’s degree in special education and then a master’s in counseling, both at SIUE. Along with her professional work, she wrote a weekly column on marriage and family for The Telegraph for several years. She also was active with the First Presbyterian Church in Alton , the Alton Community Service League, the United Way , the PEO Sisterhood and several other organizations.
Buzz O'Connell
Due to the length of Buzz' obituary please click here for pdf.
Floy Pepper
A well-known educator and the matriarch on one of the Northwest's most creative families, passed from this world on June 11, 2010. Mrs. Pepper, 93, died peacefully surrounded by family and friends in the Beaverton residence of her son-in-law and daughter, Steven and Suzanne Henry. A Muscogee Creek Indian, Mrs. Pepper was born on March 14, 1917 in Broken Arrow, OK. Prior to farming, her father James Childers was a ranch hand with the young Will Rogers and befriended Geronimo, the legendary Apache Chief, who gave Childers Indian regalia that is still in the family. At the time of her death, Mrs. Pepper had been the eldest member of the Muscogee Creek Nation. One of the youngest students to earn a master's degree at the then Oklahoma A & M, Mrs. Pepper found work as a teacher at Fort Sill, OK with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. There she met her husband, Gilbert Pepper, a Kaw Indian, who was employed by the same agency. Seeking a position where they could work together, the couple moved to Salem, OR and worked at the Chemawa Indian Boarding School. It was at Chemawa that Floy's lifelong resistance to the policy of separating Indians from their origins began. In her memoir, "Floy Lady," she had this to say: "As the arts and crafts teacher, I discovered that the Indian youth had no conception of the history of their tribes. I was finally able to help institute home rooms one morning a week where students were separated into tribal groups to study their historical heritage." As a home economics teacher for Portland Public Schools where she served for 18 years, her innovations continued when she pioneered sex education for seventh and eighth grade Portland Public School students, including classes for their parents. She became more interested in the area of counseling and guidance where, while taking coursework on student counseling at Oregon State University, Floy met Adlerian psychiatrist Rudolf Dreikurs. They became close collaborators and, along with Bronia Grunwald, co-authored Maintaining Sanity in the Classroom, a standard text in the field that has been translated into German, Greek, Hebrew and Chinese. Other publications included monographs for teachers and administrators on Effective practices in Indian Education, and a multicultural curriculum for the Portland Public Schools on Law Related issues of minorities in the state of Oregon, and a number of articles on education and Native American students. Mrs. Pepper also taught a Portland Sate University for (many) years in the Special Education Department where she became a major figure in the promulgation of Adlerian psychology, publishing a number of articles and helping create a Portland chapter of the Adlerian Society. She attended and taught for ten summers at the International Committee for Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes in the United States, and European and Middle Eastern countries. In 1941, Mrs. Pepper gave birth to a son, James Gilbert (Jim) Pepper, destined to become one of the Northwest's most singular and celebrated musicians of his generation. Throughout his career, she became a surrogate mother to many musicians, including Gordon Lee, Tom Grant, and Ron Steen, of Portland.At the outbreak of World War II, Gilbert Pepper went to work at the Kaiser Shipyards and the family moved to Vanport, the community created by Kaiser Industries to house thousands of imported shipyard workers. Floy became Acting Director of the Vanport Nursery Schools. It was there that their daughter, Suzanne was born. Calamity was avoided when the family narrowly escaped from the flood that destroyed Vanport in 1948. On coming to Portland, Floy and Gilbert encountered frequent discrimination against Native Americans including problems getting charge accounts, bank loans and seat in restaurants. They found such overpriced car insurance that she wrote letters to the governor and newspapers. Governor Sprague had sent an investigator by Floy eventually drove to Vancouver, Washington, to get regular prices for insurance. Under the then Multnomah County Educational Service District, she worked as Head Teacher for the school program for emotionally disturbed children at Edgefield Lodge. She returned her attention to the education of American Indians with a 1973 speech at a cultural diversity conference entitled "Survival or Genocide: The Dilemma of Education for Indians." Her work included the development of a syllabus on American Indian education for the Portland School District and work as a consultant for many Indian educational organizations, including First Nations people in Canada. When conducting workshops throughout Indian Country she established time and again that the storied reticence of Indian students vanished when a respectful learning environment was fostered. Mrs. Pepper received numerous awards throughout her lifetime including: a Lifetime Achievement award from the US Department of Education; an 'award for service to Native American students from Portland State University Education Department; was named the American Indian Educator of the Year from the Portland Indian Education Association; the Ed Elliott Human Rights Award from the Oregon Education Association; and represented Native Americans on the National Committee on Minorities of the Council for Exceptional Children. She was noted as an outstanding educator and educational consultant in the 2000-2001 Who's Who of American Women.Mrs. Pepper was preceded in death by her husband Gilbert, who died in 1992, eight months after the untimely passing of their son, Jim. In addition to the already named, Floy is survived by nephews, James and Donald, Marshall and niece, Marilyn Marshall, all of California, Grandsons, James Pepper Henry and Jesse Laird Henry and great-grandson Jackson Laird Henry, all of Portland. A private family ceremony has been held. Contributions may be sent in her name to Remembrance, LLC, the fund Mrs. Pepper established to aid Native Studies students in Portland State University, in care of 2200 S. W. Scenic Drive, Portland, OR 97225.
Manford A. Sonstegard
On Saturday, February 7, 2009, at 11:30 AM Eastern Standard Time, Manford A. Sonstegard, past President of NASAP, dear friend, colleague, and student of Rudolf Dreikurs, and a foremost expert in Adlerian group counseling died in Stow-on-the-Wold in County Gloustershire in England. He was exactly two weeks and two days away from his 98th birthday, which he would have celebrated on February 23rd. He was married to Rita Sonstegard who was with him, and he is survived by three of his four children, Kirsten, Tamar, and Val. His first wife Ruth and his eldest daughter Karen both preceded him in death.
He was one of the first editors of The Individual Psychologist, and he held the position for the longest time. This journal was later incorporated into what is now The Journal of Individual Psychology. Sonste started and supported over 70 family education centers in the United States , Jamaica , Canada , and parts of Europe . He was the co-author of three books, Living in Harmony with Our Children, Wages for Wee Folks, and Adlerian Group Counseling and Therapy: Step-by-Step.
He had difficulty hearing for most of the last half of his life, and he turned it to his advantage as often as he could. He would consistently tell adolescents with whom he was fond of working that he needed them to speak up so he could understand them, and they would do it for him when they would not for others. Many of us have watched him counsel a family in conflict and see him turn his hearing aids off until the fight was over, and then he would turn them back on and carefully, slowly help the family to sort life out and initiate a new harmony in their families.
I , Jim Bitter, met Sonste when I was 27 years old, and he was 63 years of age. I never dreamed that I would have him in my life for 35 years, over half of my life and more than a third of his. He has been my teacher, my confidant, my supporter and encourager, my substitute father, best friend, and greatest mentor. Some of you have known him even longer and been touched, as all who knew him were, by his gentleness of spirit, his dedication to work, and his love of everything Adlerian--his love of life and all the people in it.
Norman N. Silverman
Norman N Silverman, PhD., beloved husband of Janet and the late Rosa; loving father of the late Bernard Silverman; dear brother of Martin (Belle) and Leslie (Shelly) Silverman; fond brother-in- law of Sara Kravets and Dr. Alberto "Beto" Warman; many loving nieces and nephews. Professor of Psychology at Loyola University for 15 years including a year in the Loyola School of Rome. Services Tuesday, 2 p.m. at the Westlawn Cemetery Chapel, 7801 W. Montrose, Norridge. Interment to follow. Arrangements by Westlawn Jewish Funerals, Barry R. Silver Funeral Director, 773-625-8600.
Dr. Gary Robert Snyder
Dr. Gary Robert Snyder, 59, passed away peacefully Aug. 4, 2007. He was surrounded by those who loved him. Gary will be missed by his wife, Teal Maedel; his sons, Scott and Rob Snyder; his granddaughter, Caitlin; his daughter-in-law, Megan; his stepchildren, Maxine and Steve Tobin; and numerous friends and family.
Gary devoted his life — professionally and personally — to helping people live their own lives as fully, productively, and awarely as possible. He was a generous, patient teacher and a talented and insightful clinical psychologist, and in decades of work as an expert in the field of visual impairment, he earned the gratitude and respect of his clients, students and colleagues. Most recently he served as the clinical director of the Adler Centre, a nonprofit community counseling center in Vancouver, where he found a deep connection to the centre’s mission of counseling those in need and mentoring therapists-in-training. Gary loved his work and the company of his family and friends; he loved to paint and draw, to ride his bike and fly his kites.
Gary passed after a courageous two-month struggle with bile duct cancer.
A celebration of life was held Aug. 13 in Gary’s honour, at the False Creek Yacht Club, Vancouver. His ashes were scattered at Savary Island, off the coast of British Columbia. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the nonprofit Adler Psychology Association, www.adler.bc.ca
Dr. Welborn Kiefer Willingham
March 12, 1928 - Jan. 13, 2007
Dr. Welborn Kiefer Willingham, 78, of Salado, Texas, died Saturday, January 13th, 2007, after a brief illness. Willingham, known as “Will” by his many friends, patients and colleagues, was born March 12th, 1928, in Fisher County, Texas. He was the son of W.B. Willingham and Madge Eason Willingham.
A 1949 graduate of Texas Tech University, Willingham received a Masters degree at The University of Texas and a Ph.D. at Tech. As an undergraduate, Willingham was sophomore class president, a member of and first pledge trainer of Saddle Tramps, Tech’s spirit organization, and a member of Socii Fraternity, which later became Sigma Nu.
After a brief stint as an officer in the United States Air Force, from which he retired in later years as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Reserves, Willingham spent most of his working life in academia. He was a professor in the Department of Education at Texas Tech, an adjunct professor at Tech’s medical school, and retired with the distinction of Professor Emeritus. A practicing psychologist, Willingham founded a counseling center in Lubbock, Texas. He was an active member of the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology, in which organization he was a delegate and leader for many years. He founded that association’s Graduate Student Forum and served as its director, encouraging many young people in the profession.
In recent years Willingham enjoyed his retirement, while overseeing his ranching interests in Fisher and Scurry Counties. On August 14th, 1950, he married a Lubbock native, Maxine McCollum, following a campus romance. After his Air Force tour of duty, University of Texas studies and a brief period in Hale Center, Texas, as the youngest school principal in the state at that time, they made their home in Lubbock, where they raised their family. In 2006, they relocated to Salado, Texas, where they had built a vacation home. Willingham’s ancestors were early settlers in Salado.
Will is survived by his wife of 56 years, Maxine; his three children: Sharon Willingham Harris of Garland, Dr. Douglas B. Willingham of Salado, and Sheila Willingham McBeth of Sarasota, Florida. He is also survived by six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Private graveside services were held Monday, January 15th, 2007, at the Willingham Cemetery in Salado, Texas, officiated by the Rev. Thomas A. Wallace, Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Belton, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to one’s charity of choice.
Els Versteegh (Holland)
8/17/1917 - 3/9/2007
These sentiments were sent to NASAP by Beatrice Saemann
Els was very active in the Netherlands and worked in logopedics, sometimes with Theo Schoenaker and translated books as English was basically her mothertongue having been raised in China and Indonesia. She graduated in languages and after the early death of her lawyer husband in 1958 was left with 5 children of 3-15 years old and then started her above work. Her mother had raised her with Adler somewhat, quoting him frequently : 'As ADLER said.'We met in Greece when ICASSI was on the island of Euboea and were very good friends ever since, visiting and staying with each other and calling frequently. She organized the Dutch parties at ICASSI in Noordwijkerhout and we visited Mim and ICASSI when in Holland last time a few years back. She was a most elegant, beautiful very tall lady with a delightful sense of humor and common sense and was sought after by friends, family and clients up to the end. She died at home after a short illness due to pancreatic cancer and was able to take leave of many of her friends on her last Sunday. Besides her 5 children she leaves 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren and will be dearly missed by many people, and not the least by her 98 year old friend Jan with whom she had again planned a boat trip for this summer.
Evelyn Wachman
Died on January 23, 2008 at the age of 85
Evelyn Z. Wachman, nee Rosenberg, age 85, beloved wife of the late Frank Wachman and the late Seymour Ziff; loving mother of Roger (Carol) Ziff; devoted grandmother of Allison (Robert) Polender and Susan and Deborah Ziff; dear sister of Irwin (Lois) Rosenberg. Service Friday, 10 a.m. at The Weinstein Funeral Home Wilmette Chapel, 111 Skokie Blvd. (one blk. north of Old Orchard). Interment I.O.B.S. Cemetery, Chicago. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Beth Emet Synagogue, 1224 Dempster St., Evanston, IL 60202. Funeral information, 847-256-5700 .
Published in the Chicago Tribune on 1/24/2008.
The above obituary taken from the Chicago Tribune online obituaries was sent in by Bryna Gamson. Although it directs donations to other than NASAP,
Eva Dreikurs Ferguson shared that Evelyn's son, Roger Ziff, approved donations to NASAP as well.
Archive reference online http://www.legacy.com/chicagotribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=SEARCHRESULTS.
These sentiments were sent to NASAP by Bryna Gamson
For those among our membership who were trained at the old Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago, there will be grief in the knowledge of the passing of an old friend. Evelyn Wachman died on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at age 85. She had been in increasingly poor health over the last several years.
Evelyn was hired by Dr. Dreikurs to do secretarial work sometime back in the early 1950s. She had been helped by him in child guidance, having been widowed with a small son to raise. As his office employee she brought a devotion to his message far beyond the limits of the paycheck. It seems to me that Evelyn became a silent partner, enabling his widening travels, and implementor of the nitty-gritty necessary behind organizing a private practice widening into a training Institute.
When I worked there, from about 1982, I already knew Evelyn from her tireless work in FEA, the Family Education Association (formerly, Community Child Guidance Centers), which had grown up as the lay person's (mostly "mothers") organization, companion to the professional training organization that the Institute was. A modest woman, she brought her own unique "system" to managing all the balls Dr. D put into the air. Many believe he could not have been as productive had he not had Evelyn, always ready to lengthen her workday to suit his ambitious, energetic needs. Her memory was a treasure-trove to (people like me), those putting together a history of who's-who and who-did-what in the Adlerian psychology movement in Chicago. (It was a good thing she had such a memory because her office reflected the sometimes-chaotic state of affairs at the overstretched Institute! No one else could have put a finger so quickly on just the right piece of paper in that overflowing, daunting office space I knew her in. Others might have kept it neater in the first place, but who knows if they would have been as productive.)
She was officially Office Manager and then Registrar, but also bookstore/recordings manager and all-around historian --and the glue!-- for the old Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago. I believe the year she retired was 1985.
Evelyn eventually became close as a daughter to Tee Dreikurs. In the end, when Tee lived in a nursing home, Evelyn was the "local family" representative, visiting and helping arrange things with caregivers. In fact, oddly enough, Tee and Evelyn shared a birthdate, February 28. I always thought that was really neat.
Evelyn Wachman's devotion to Dr. D and to Adlerian family education were legendary. I appreciated her enormously. She would probably have been shocked at any tribute, but we friends and Adlerians were the richer to have had her among us, and the poorer to have lost her.
These sentiments were sent to NASAP by Renee Dushman
I was saddened to hear of Evelyn Wachman's death. To add to what Bryna said, Evelyn was a warm, caring person who was always ready and willing to be of help to anyone who had any connection the the"Institute". As a student in the mid 70's, Evelyn was the "go to" person and I certainly was personally helped many times by her. Her pleasant smile could warm a person's heart and day. She will be sorely missed.
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