David Ulrich

Lyme - David Ulrich, died peacefully of complications from Parkinson's disease on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, at home.

David was born in Seattle, Wash., on April 5, 1919, to Amy (Gow) Ulrich and Russell Ulrich, and grew up watching the ships in Puget Sound and viewing Mt. Rainier to the west. He came east to attend Harvard from which he earned a bachelor's and master's degree before entering the Navy in World War II as a lieutenant.

He served aboard CVE Saginaw Bay, a small aircraft carrier, on which he supervised the loading of bombs onto planes during pivotal battles in the South Pacific including Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He returned to the Harvard Business School to work as a research associate until his interest in management philosophy, coupled with a desire to help his fellow man, led him to pursue a career in clinical psychology. He earned his PhD in clinical psychology at Harvard in 1956 and came to Connecticut a few years later.

He was chief psychologist at the Child Guidance Center in Stamford for many years, on the staff at the Dubois Center and established a private practice that he maintained until he was 86. He studied family therapy in the 1970s and went on to teach and write in what was then a relatively new field. His works were published in professional literature and included "To Love and Work, a Systemic Interlocking of Family, Workplace and Career", co-authored with Harry P. Dunne.

In 1962, David married Mary Lou Harbison; he later adopted her son, Michael, and the couple had one son, James. After this marriage ended in divorce, he married Judy Atkinson, a psychotherapist with whom he shared many professional interests and almost 40 years of happiness. They divided their time and professional commitments between Stamford and Lyme for many years until David retired and they could live only amidst the beauty and tranquility of Lyme. There, David's interests included his weekly Men's Group and for the last five years, Dance for Parkinson's, a weekly activity from which he derived much joy and many health benefits.

In addition to his wife, Judy; David is survived by his son, James and wife, Jocelyn, and grandchildren, Gus and Lana, of Potomac, MD.; his son, Michael Harbison of Florida; his niece, Rachel Loden of Palo Alto, Calif.; his nephew, Tom Edelson of Marshall, N.C.; his grandniece, Skye Pillsbury of San Francisco, Calif.; his nephew, David Atkinson and his wife, Renee, and their two daughters, Morgan and Josephine of Arlington, Va.; and by Atkinson niece and nephews, Ann, Sam and Kevin; and sister-in-law, Kass of Santa Fe, N.M.

A Memorial Service will be held at 4 p.m Saturday, Nov. 9, at the First Congregational Church in Old Lyme.

Donations in David's memory to support his dance group may be sent to: Dance for Parkinson's, New London, at Neighborhood Music School, 100 Audubon St., New Haven, CT 06510.