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BORN
November 07, 1926
DIED
November 29, 2015
Otfried Spreen Obituary
Memories and Condolences
for Otfried Spreen
11 Entries
Dave Madden
October 4, 2016
I was saddened to learn of Dr. Spreen's passing. I believe all the comments here have captured the admirable qualities of this man from whom we have all learned so much. As a graduate student at UVic in the 1970s, he helped guide my initial experiences with research, and I was fortunate to have had him as a member of my master's thesis committee. Although I moved into other areas of psychology, I continue to value his early guidance and the perspective he provided.
Elisabeth Sherman
January 16, 2016
I owe my career to Dr. Spreen, and for that, I am forever grateful. As an undergraduate at McGill, the textbook for one of my favourite courses was his book, Developmental Neuropsychology. I was instantly hooked. To then be accepted at UVic the following year, and eventually as his co-author on the third edition of the Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests, was beyond anything that I could have imagined at the time. He was humble, gracious, and calm in his mentoring, and incredibly accepting of me joining him and Esther Strauss as co-authors, even though they were both senior, expert neuropsychologists, and I was so junior and inexperienced in academic writing. He and Esther taught me a lot, most importantly, to rise above self-doubt, and embrace the love of scientific writing and enthusiastic inquiry. He was an amazing man, and he made a huge impact on the field. He will be greatly missed. It was an honour to have known him.
Anthony Risser, Ph.D.
December 17, 2015
A colleague, a mentor, a professor for so many of us in neuropsychology.
A true gentleman.
A true scholar.
Our profession will miss him and his contributions.
As a mentor of mine and having worked with him as a co-author of three books and of three chapters in other books, he was a foundation of my professional life and a kindly presence in it.
D. J. Crockett
December 16, 2015
I had the honour and privilege to be one of Dr. Spreen's students after he had moved to the University of Victoria. It is important to remember, he completed his ground breaking text, A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests, before the advent of the internet, laptops, or cellphones. As important as his academic publications might be, his real skill was identifying capable students, providing them the necessary tools, and letting them do good work. Well before formal initiatives to remove barriers for women, his laboratory was an oasis where women could realize their academic aspirations. Despite being forced to retire at 65, he continued to be productive member of the neuropsychological community for many years. His diffident manner belied a keen intellect and made graduate seminars with him a formidable challenge. He also had a kind heart. I recall him describing visiting empty institutions in Germany after WWII and experience that made him acutely aware of the needs of less fortunate individuals. He will be missed by the generations of students he gave the opportunity to learn about neuropsychology and become members of a profession he clearly loved. He will be missed.
Kevin O'Brien
December 16, 2015
I was very saddened to hear of Dr. Spreen's passing. My deepest sympathies to his family.
I had the pleasure of being a student at UVIC and took several courses from Otfried. Not only did he possess an encyclopedic knowledge of neuropsychology, he was patient, calm, and informative in his teachings; a model professor. Through his many associations with colleagues from around the world, Dr. Spreen also facilitated visits of research and clinical neuropsychologists to UVIC as guests, which afforded us budding neuropsychologists to interact with and learn from other luminaries. Dr. Spreen will be remembered for his many contributions to the field of neuropsychology, and he will be missed by those lucky enough to have known him.
December 16, 2015
I was very saddened to learn of Otfried's passing. If Hollywood were to cast the classic European professor, Otfried would be the ideal choice. He was soft spoken, witty, and very insightful. His contributions to the field of clinical neuropsychology are well respected and widely known. Not so widely known (except to those who were UVIC students) were his graciousness, kindness, and limitless intellectual curiosity. His presence was immense in forging the beginnings of a field of which we all are beneficiaries. I was fortunate to know him. He will be missed, but his memory and contributions will always remain with us.
Allan Yozawitz, Syracuse, New York
Richard Freeman, Ph.D.
December 16, 2015
Ottfried Spreen was a mentor to so many neuropsychologists that if he had done nothing else in his long and distinguished career, he would be remembered for that alone. He was gracious and generous with his time, and we are the poorer for the loss of this fine man.
Glenn Larrabee
December 16, 2015
I never studied under or worked with Dr. Spreen, but he was one of the first senior neuropsychologists who I met early in my career. He always struck me as a gracious, kind, gentleman and scholar. I considered his Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests to be one of the must-have books in the field, along with the texts by Lezak, and Heilman and Valenstein. He was one of the founders of the field, and will be greatly missed.
My condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
Jane Holmes Bernstein
December 16, 2015
A great contributor to the field. We were lucky to have him.
David Tupper
December 15, 2015
Please accept my deepest sympathy on the passing of Otfried Spreen. He was truly a soft-spoken and kind man and mentor. I feel truly priviledged to have had him as a graduate professor and to be one of his co-authors, not to mention to have learned so much about the field of developmental neuropsychology from him. I always enjoyed his quiet yet direct manner, as well as his compassion for and clear direction of his students. He was a world-class individual and major contributor to Neuropsychology at UVic and to the field as a whole. He is already missed.
Karen Waldie
December 14, 2015
I'm so sorry to hear about Dr Spreen. I was his last honour student at UVic and I will always remember him so fondly. What an exceptional man.
Warm regards,
Karen Waldie, PhD
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