DEAN PEABODY

PEABODY

DEAN, of Media, PA, passed away on September 29, 2013, shortly after body surfing at the Jersey shore, one of his favorite activities. He was 85. A professor of psychology at Swarthmore College for more than 30 years, he remained an eternal student with a wide range of interests, from linguistics to history to current affairs, and regularly audited classes at Swarthmore during his retirement. Fluent in German, French and Russian, Professor Peabody was fascinated by the concept of national character, the way in which people in different countries are unique from one another, and this became his area of expertise, ultimately resulting in a book, National Characteristics, published in 1985 by Cambridge University Press.
Born on May 26, 1928 to parents Dean Peabody II and Florence Palmer of Brookline, MA, he was the youngest of four children. He received a scholarship to attend Middlesex boarding school, and continued his education at Swarthmore College as an undergraduate, and Harvard University, where he received his PhD. While working with Russian refugees in Germany as part of the Tolstoy Foundation, he met his first wife, Veronica Neumark, and together they had three sons, Eric, Roy and Bruce. After his first marriage ended in divorce, Professor Peabody married Gisela Schonrock, who passed away in 2003. They shared a love for bridge, swimming, travel, word puzzles, and soap operas. A unique individual with an extremely analytical and independent mind, he will be missed by all his friends and family. In addition to his three sons, he is survived by his sister Nancy McCaffrey of Boulder, Colorado, and six grandchildren.
Memorial Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either Department of Psychology Fund In Honor of Dean Peabody, Swarthmore College, Attn: Gift Records, 500 College Ave. Swarthmore, PA 19081 or The Tolstoy Foundation, 104 Lake Road, Valley Cottage, NY 10989.

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