Susan Babb had master’s degrees in education and history but she found her way to psychology where she combined those skills in a successful practice in Oak Park for children and adolescents.
“From her love of history she was especially attuned to the impact of prior events, and from her background in education came her joy of helping people. It was a natural evolution for her to get into psychology,” said her husband, Philip Baranowski.
Ms. Babb, 52, of Oak Park, a child psychologist with a private practice who formerly held positions with the University of Chicago and the Institute for Juvenile Research, died Sunday, Dec. 28, in her home after a four-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Ms. Babb graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs with a bachelor of arts in history. She moved to Chicago and worked on her master’s degrees in history and education at the University of Chicago. During that time, she also taught at various centers working with young adults to help them get general equivalency diplomas.
In 1975, she completed her degrees and the following year taught at Bloom Trail High School in Chicago Heights, where she met her future husband. The couple moved to Tucson and returned to Chicago in 1982. After their marriage in 1983, they lived in the Pullman community. That year, she began work on her doctorate at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago. She received the degree in 1987.
While working on her doctorate, she also was employed at the Institute for Juvenile Research in Chicago. “As a psychologist, she was able to see the issues and encapsulate them brilliantly,” her husband said. Her work at the University of Chicago as a child psychologist began in 1987 and she stayed until 1991 when the couple moved to Oak Park. She then opened a private practice.
Described as a high-energy person, Ms. Babb was always willing to help anyone at any time, her husband said. “No request went unanswered. It didn’t matter what you needed or when you needed it; she would respond every time,” he said.
Ms. Babb also found time to assist with classroom activities for her two daughters as well as help her husband coach their T-ball teams. Until December, Ms. Babb continued her practice. “Never once during this four-year ordeal did she complain. Her strength of will and her positive outlook will be an enduring legacy for her children,” her husband said.
Other survivors include her two daughters, Alida and Julia Baranowski; and two brothers, Doug and Toby Babb. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday in St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 545 S. East Ave., Oak Park.
