Dr. Carolyn M. Fowle

1925 - 2023

Dr. Carolyn M. Fowle died of natural causes on May 19 at the age of 97. She was a well-known clinical psychologist in the community.
A native of Nebraska, she was born October 8, 1925. She received her education at Nebraska State Teachers College, the University of Chicago by a fellowship, and the University of the Pacific. At the University of the Pacific, she earned three degrees, including her doctorate. By invitation, she was an Adjunct Professor in Counseling Professor in Counseling Psychology there from 1965 to 1974.
Dr. Fowle and her first husband, Charles E. Fowle, moved to Lodi from Norfolk, Nebraska in 1952 so that Mr. Fowle might take a position with the Farmers and Merchants Bank. Dr. Fowle took a position as a kindergarten teacher and then school psychologist with the Lodi Elementary School District. The city schools and 14 rural schools joined to form the Lodi Unified School District in 1965 and Dr. Fowle was appointed to the position of Director of Pupil Personnel Services. In 1974 she joined the California State Department of Education in Sacramento, first as a consultant in Program Education, next as the Administrator of State Programs for Disadvantaged Children, and lastly, she became the Deputy Chief of the Office of Program Evaluation and Research. Mr. Fowle died of lung cancer in 1976.
From 1966, Dr. Fowle had a part-time practice as a psychologist in Lodi and later in Sacramento. In 1991 Dr. Fowle retired from the State Department of Education in Sacramento and devoted full time to her Lodi practice. Lodi was her true love! While in Sacramento, she met and married her second husband, Henry C. Ybarra. In 1996 the couple moved to Lodi so that Dr. Fowle could be closer to her work. in previous years, she shared an office with Marian Cross and Marilyn Hughes. In 1996 she became the sole practitioner at the office at the Fairmont Medical Center. For 16 years, or until 2006, Dr. Fowle also served the Sacramento Superior Criminal Court as a forensic psychologist, evaluating hundreds of prisoners before testifying as an expert witness in court.
Dr. Fowle was preceded in death by her husband Henry C. Ybarra. The couple enjoyed golf, skiing, and traveling. They were members of the El Macero and then the Woodbridge Golf and Country Club. They traveled widely and toured over 70 countries in six of the seven continents. Mr. Ybarra was a Certified Public Accountant. He passed on March 19, 2011 at Lodi Memorial Hospital in the room next to the one which they had donated to the hospital. Dr. Fowle was an active patron of the Lodi Memorial Hospital Foundation.
Dr. Fowle's interests included traveling, reading, and working. She loved her practice and her patients, working full time until October 2022. She is a past president of the San Joaquin Psychology Society.
Visitation will be held on June 1, 2023 from 10am-2pm at the Lodi Funeral Home. Entombment will be at the Cherokee Memorial Park where she will lay next to her husband.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her name may be made to the Lodi Memorial Hospital Foundation, 845 South Fairmont, Suite 3, Lodi, California 95240, or a charity of your choice.