Elizabeth Scarborough

Pauline “Elizabeth” Scarborough, PhD, 80, of Mishawaka, passed away Tuesday, August 18, 2015, in her home following a long struggle with colon cancer.

Elizabeth was born March 30, 1935 in Ruston, Louisiana, to the late Truett L. and Helen Pauline (Olmstead) Scarborough as their first child. She was a 1952 graduate of Ruston High School and earned her BA in Psychology in 1956 from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. After graduate study at Carver School of Missions and Social Work in Louisville, Kentucky, and Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City, she earned her MA in Psychology in 1966 and PhD in History of Psychology in 1972 at the University of New Hampshire.

Dr. Scarborough taught part-time at Northern Illinois University before joining the faculty at State University in New York, College at Fredonia in 1977. There she served as chair of the Psychology Department and then Assistant to the President. In 1991 she became Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Indiana University South Bend and also held the position of Interim Vice Chancellor of Academia Affairs for two years before retirement in 2000. Elizabeth co-authored books with Laurel Furumoto and is particularly remembered for the book titled; Untold Lives: The First Generation of American Women Psychologists. She was a founding member of Cheiron: The International Society for the History of the Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Elizabeth was a member of First Unitarian Church in South Bend where she served on the finance committee. She was a member of the Mishawaka Lions Club. She loved nature and was a conservationist belonging to the Sierra Club and Nature Conservancy. Elizabeth was an avid bird watcher and loved walks in the woods. She was a Docent at Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. She also enjoyed flower gardening and loved to read. Elizabeth was active with Democratic Party politics. She had a passion for social justice and women’s rights.

Elizabeth’s surviving family includes her children, Cathryn Elizabeth Goodman of Glen Ellyn, Illinois and David Earl Goodman of Pahrump, Nevada; her grandchildren, Henry and Clara Elizabeth Haeffner and Adam and Sydney Elizabeth Goodman; her sister, Lynn Scarborough; her brothers, Clark Scarborough and Truett Scarborough; and her nieces, Kris Kinard Prince and Kelly Kinard Fleming, daughters of her late sister, Dorothy Kinard.

Friends may spend time with Elizabeth’s family Friday, August 21, from 5 - 7 pm in Goethals & Wells Funeral Home, 503 W. 3rd Street, Mishawaka.

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, August 22, at 2 pm in First Unitarian Church, 801 E. Washington Street, South Bend, with Rev. Chip Roush leading the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Center for Hospice Care, Heifer International or Potawatomi Zoological Society. Assistance with memorials is available at the funeral home.