Carol Ryser

Carol Ryser, of Concord, a psychologist and pyschotherapist who in1976 co-founded Affiliates for Adult Development (AAD), a counseling agency in Bedford, died at home early Tuesday morning, January 17th, after a long illness. She was surrounded by her husband and four children. Born Carol Leigh Pierson on May 1st, 1932 in South Orange, NJ, sheattended Smith College, The Juilliard School, Boston University, and Harvard University, where she earned a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1967. Her longtime love of dance led her Smith College mentor Martha Myers to encourage her to audition for the second entering class of the new danceprogram at the Juilliard School, where she had classes with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and Robert Cohan, among others. After leaving Juilliard, she returned to Smith College, and then Boston University, where she earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in sociology. Her mentor at Boston University, Sol Levine, encouraged her to attend Harvard University, where she completed a dissertation on cultural differences between psychiatric theories in the United States and France. While studying at Harvard, she also completed an internship at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, under the direction of Elvin Semrad. While at Harvard she married Hugues J.P. Ryser, a Swiss cell biologist and M.D. then affiliated with MGH, with whom she had three children, Marc Ryser, of Concord, Jeannine Ryser, of Lac-Suprieur, Qubec, and Eve Ryser, of Napa, California. In the early years of her career she held various research and teaching positions at Harvard University, and was a member of the Founding Mothers Seminar at Wellesley College. In 1976 she started Affiliates for Adult Development with the psychologist Natalie Goodman, shortly thereafterbecoming licensed as a psychologist. AAD was the focus of her professional life for thirty five years, but she was also active in many political causes, advocating for implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments in the Concord Public Schools, directing a conference on Women in Sports, and co-founding the Louisa May Alcott Womens Society (LAWS), which advocated successfully for the inclusion of prominent women in the Patriots Day Bicentennial Celebrations in Concord in 1975. She remained active in progressive and womens causes to the end of her life. In the 1990s she was drawn back into modern dance. She performed for several years as a member of the Back Porch Dance Company, a cross-generational womens dance ensemble, and took classes at the newly formed festival, Summer Stages Dance at Concord Academy. A gifted athlete, she was an avid swimmer,tennis player, skier, golfer, and yoga student. She is survived by her husband Hugues, their three children, Marc,Jeannine and Eve, her son, F. Warren Mears, of Maynard, her sons-in-law, Michel Coutu and David Prouty, and four grandchildren. Funeral services were held on Saturday, January 21st. A private interment was held at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Concord. A celebratory gathering will be held at a later date. Contributions in her memory may be made to Summer Stages Dance at Concord Academy, 166 Main Street, Concord MA, 01742, or Emilys List, 1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036. Arrangements under the care of Glenn D. Burlamachi, CONCORD FUNERAL HOME, Concord. To share a memory or offer a condolence visit: www.concordfuneral.com