Vladimir de Lissovoy died on January 2, 2009, at Foxdale Village. Born August 24, 1918, in Poltava, Russia, Vladimir de Lissovoy was the son of Colonel of the Imperial General Staff Yakov Markovich Lissovoy and Ol'ga Ivanovna Mouravitskaya. On June 26, 1970, he married Charlotte Jeanne Himes, who survives at home.
After the defeat of the Imperial Army in 1920, the family emigrated to Greece, moving to Serbia in 1921, to France in 1925, and to the United States in 1929. Vladimir graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago in 1936, entered an apprenticeship in the Engraving Department of R. R. Donnelley, and in 1941, became a journeyman Photographer.
During summers he attended The Citizens Military Camps in order to earn a commission in the Army. A member of the Organized Reserve of the United States Army, he was commissioned as second lieutenant in 1940. Called to active duty in December 1941, he served in posts in the United States until he was sent to Iceland, where he was an infantry company commander and later an Aide de Camp to the Commanding General of Northern Iceland. In June 1943 he was transferred to the headquarters of the planning staff of "Overlord." In 1945 he was separated from the service as a Captain, Infantry.
From the University of Colorado he received a BA, BEd., and MA in Sociology. In 1949 he accepted a position in the State University of New York at Oswego and later at Oneonta. A Grant Foundation Fellow and Danforth Fellow at Cornell University, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Social Psychology in 1958.
In 1960 Vladimir accepted an appointment as Associate Professor in the College of Home Economics at Penn State University. A member of the Graduate Faculty, he served in the Faculty Senate for twelve years and was Chair of the Graduate Council in 1974. He was on a faculty task force that organized and developed The College of Human Development, where he was promoted to Professor in 1970. His research focused on problems in normal development of children, child abuse, and family relationships of married adolescents. In 1971 he accepted an invitation to serve on the psychiatric staff of the Tavistock Clinic in London, England, where he spent the year in the department of Parents and Children as an associate on the therapeutic staff of John Bowlby.
A Professor Emeritus, he retired in 1982 after 22 years of service at Penn State University. He was a member of many professional and honorary associations including Phi Beta Kappa, Society of Sigma Xi, Phi Delta Kappa, Pi Gamma Mu, New York Academy of Sciences, Society of Research in Child Development, National Council of Family Relations, and the American Psychological Association. A licensed psychologist, he was also a Fellow of the American Orthopsychiatric Association and a Clinical Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
Active in community affairs throughout his life, he was a Scoutmaster in Boy Scouts, a Board member of the YMCA, President of the Board and member of Centre County Children and Youth Services, Pennsylvania State Mental Health Board, The National Committee for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Board of Directors of the Friends of the Pennsylvania Military Museum, Board of Alpha Community Ambulance, Board of the National Tuberculosis Association, Chair of Patton Township Bicentennial Commission, a member of the County and the Penn State Bicentennial Commission, and a member of State College Rotary Club. He was president of the Universalist Church in Oneonta, New York, and an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County.
In addition to his wife Charlotte, he is survived by three children from a first marriage to Reymour Bentzen: son Gregory and wife Jean Mitchell of Potomac, MD; son Geoffrey and wife Mitsue Koike of Seattle; and daughter Linda of Morton Grove, IL. He is also survived by a stepson James E. Himes, Jr., and wife Jennifer of Memphis. Two grandsons, Michael (Baltimore) and Ryan de Lissovoy (Potomac); a step-granddaughter, Katherine Anna Himes; and a great granddaughter Allison de Lissovoy (Baltimore) also survive. His brother Igor de Lissovoy died in 1996. A passionate gardener, avid fisherman, accomplished magician, gifted photographer, pied piper of children and adults alike, a witty and profound story teller in written and spoken word (Russian and English), a compassionate mediator in formal and informal settings, Vladimir was especially a devoted and loving husband, father, teacher, and friend.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 31, 2009, 2:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 780 Waupelani Dr. Extension, State College, PA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County, 780 Waupelani Dr. Extension, State College, PA 16801; or to the Foxdale Employees Assistance Fund, 500 E. Marylyn Ave. State College, PA 16801.