John Edward Dopyera

Dopyera, John Edward

John Edward Dopyera, retired research social psychologist, died at home on November 12, 2014. He was born on August 16, 1929 in Los Angeles, CA to John Dopyera and Elizabeth Candee. The family, including brother Joseph (deceased) and sister Anna, moved to Grants Pass, OR when he was in elementary school. John excelled in his studies until his junior year at Grants Pass High School when he decided to leave school to work in logging and lumber mills. John enlisted in the USAF serving as a meteorological technician. While in the USAF he completed his high school equivalency by USAFI examination as well as two years of college. He was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in 1952. With the GI Bill he first attended San Jose State and then transferred to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where he earned a B.A. with dual majors in psychology and sociology. After his marriage to Mary Lou Bishop in 1956, John taught history at the Greenwich, NY high school and they traveled in Europe. Upon return, he began graduate study at Syracuse University and during those years directed or co-directed several basic and applied research and evaluation programs. Three daughters, Barbara, Suzanne and Caroline (deceased 1996) were born. His PhD in Psychology and Education was awarded in 1971. John married professional colleague and friend Margaret Lay in 1978. One of their major joint collaborations was the writing and publication of a college textbook, Becoming a Teacher of Young Children, first published by D.C. Heath in 1977. Four subsequent editions were published by Random House and McGraw Hill. John served as interim chair of elementary education at Syracuse University; as associate professor of early education at Penn State and as dean of faculty at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, CA. He continued innovative consulting activities throughout many years in the Syracuse area. When John and Margaret moved to northwestern PA to retire, John designed and built a large home that was greatly enjoyed by John's grandchildren, family and friends and served as a bed and breakfast, as a vacation rental facility, and as a venue for music events. During 1990 John became involved in travels to Slovakia to support the development of a music festival - DOBROFEST - to honor his father's invention of the resonator guitar. The Dopyeras traveled to Slovakia five times during 1990 to 2001. In 2006, John and his sister accepted an award from the International Bluegrass Association on behalf of their father's contributions to traditional acoustic music. Recently the Dopyeras have lived in Ithaca where John has been active in several community organizations. He has long been affiliated with Unitarian-Universalist churches as well as research organizations - American Educational Research Association and Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. John was a lifetime learner and was always reading and writing. During his retirement, he wrote several unpublished plays and collections of memorabilia. John is survived by his wife, Margaret Lay-Dopyera of Ithaca; two daughters, Barbara (Douglas) Dopyera Daley of Fayetteville, NY and Suzanne (Bruce) Kuntz of Ithaca as well as seven grandchildren - Megan Daley, Bryan Daley, Cameron Daley, Elizabeth Kuntz, Emily Kuntz, Jessica Kuntz, Sarah Kuntz; his sister, Anne Dopyera West of Grants Pass, OR; nieces and nephews and numerous cousins.