Ruth A. Wessler, 59, a psychology professor who practiced clinical psychology in Downers Grove for 12 years, died Sunday in Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
A native of Kendallville, Ind., Ms. Wessler taught at the now-defunct George Williams College in Downers Grove from 1975 to 1986 and maintained a private practice in the village from 1984 to 1996.
Ms. Wessler also taught part-time at Illinois Benedictine College, now Benedictine University, in Lisle.
She closed her private practice last October due to health concerns, according to her sister-in-law Janet Cotter.
Ms. Wessler taught at Washington University in St. Louis from 1965 to 1969; at the now-closed Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, from 1969 to 1973; and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Rational Emotive Therapy in New York City from 1973 to 1975.
“She was a very outgoing and intelligent person,” Cotter said. “She liked things that were kind of challenging.”
Ms. Wessler also enjoyed playing tennis at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where she received her undergraduate degree in 1960. She received her doctorate at Washington University in 1965.
Other survivors include a brother.
Services were private.
