Richard Thompson "Tom" Putney

1932 - 2020

PUTNEY, Richard Thompson "Tom" A gifted teacher and experimental psychologist, died on June 8, 2020 in Atlanta following an illness. He was cared for lovingly throughout his last months by his beloved daughter, Eleanor. He is also survived by nieces Robin and Claire and grandchildren Cassidy and Devin. He was pre-deceased by his wife Paula and daughter Hollye and by his brother Robert. Born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 1, 1932 to Eleanor and Rufus D. Putney Jr., a professor of English, Tom was encouraged to develop interests in natural history and philosophy, and an appreciation of animal behavior, athletics, and outdoor life. He lived with his grandparents, pre-eminent embryologist Ross Harrison and wife Ida, in New Haven, CT during 1944-46 while his father was in the Pacific war. He graduated Boulder High School in 1950. He attended Yale University, where he studied psychology, linguistics, and philosophy of science, before obtaining his B.A. in psychology at University of Colorado in 1956. He then earned the M.A. (1959) and Ph.D. (1966) in psychology from University of Missouri-Columbia. After teaching at Coe College from 1962-67, he joined the psychology department at Georgia State University in 1967. His research included studies of psychophysiology, perception, attention, memory, and animal behavior. His lifelong curiosity about the world, and his desire to know and to discuss, were a source of inspiration and great pleasure to friends and colleagues. His annual talks at Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology were models of incisive thinking. He taught thousands of undergraduate students and provided mentoring to dozens of graduate students before retiring in 1997 as tenured Associate Professor of Psychology. Recently he was completing a scholarly history of cognitive theories of consciousness. He collaborated actively with colleagues at Georgia State University's Language Research Center until his death, on topics of evolution of language, ape mentality, and history of cognitive psychology. He enjoyed swimming, reading espionage novels, playing guitar and singing folk songs, and helping Paula edit her poetry journal in Atlanta. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather, who cherished family traditions, personalities, stories, recipes, and summers at the beach cottage in East Haven, CT. He will be deeply missed by the scores of family, friends, and colleagues whose lives he touched and enriched. Instead of flowers, please send contributions to the American Heart Association. A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home and Crematory.