Elizabeth Wales, Ph.D., (née Mary Elizabeth Moore), 88, passed away at home on August 24, 2020, enveloped in love by her family.
Born and raised in Wichita Kansas, Beth was anything but a small town girl. A gifted dancer, she spent her youth travelling the west coast with her mother performing in vaudeville shows. At college (proud graduate of the University of Kansas), she studied theatre, putting her dancing skills and passion for drama to good use. It was at summer stock at the Barn Theatre in Michigan where she met her husband. They married, moved to Germany for military service, returned to the US, and ultimately settled in Cincinnati, Ohio to raise a family.
Here's where things get interesting. Wanting more for herself than being just a housewife, she enrolled and obtained her degree in psychology at the University of Cincinnati. Despite the challenges of being divorced, supporting a young family and being a woman in a male-dominated field, she rose to the heights of her profession. Throughout her career, she counseled patients, taught at universities, and led the development of the field, being instrumental in starting the schools of medicine and psychology at Wright State University (Dayton, OH) and serving as Dean of Student Services at the University of Minnesota.
Her smarts and curiosity were evident in her active personal life as well. She was an avid reader and could be seen at the library every week, checking out books, mostly murder mysteries. She enjoyed sports, being a baseball fan (Go Reds!), and culture, being a regular at the symphony and opera, and learning how to fly-fish. Perhaps her greatest passion was horse racing, where she got really good at betting on the ponies. Although she did not get to travel as much as she liked, she loved her travels to England, France, and South Africa.
Beth is survived by her three children; Dirk O. Wales (Linda), Jessica W. Pugil and Stacey W. Evenson (Jeff) and cherished grandmother of Walter, Audrey, Jack, and Terra. She relished her role as grandmother and was darned good at it! She was a strong, smart, dynamic and inspirational person, and is sorely missed.
