Elizabeth Angeline Waites

WAITES, ELIZABETH A. Elizabeth Angeline Waites, Ph.D. died Sunday, September 15, 2013, at the age of 73 at Arbor Hospice in Ann Arbor, MI after a two year battle with breast cancer. She was born on October 20, 1939, in Rockmart, GA to Oscar Louis Waites and Willie Waites (nee Phillips), and grew up in the greater Montgomery, AL area with her younger brother Gerald Louis Waites. After receiving a B.A. from Alabama College in 1961 and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1965, she began a successful private psychotherapy practice in Ann Arbor, which she maintained until 2010. She also counseled many patients as a staff psychologist at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital from 2009 until her death. Specializing in assisting women, she published two books: Trauma and Survival: Post-Traumatic and Dissociative Disorders in Women (1993), and Memory Quest: Trauma and the Search for Personal History (1997), for which she received the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology (1998) . Her life was shaped by the civil rights and women's movements, leading to a lifelong passion for social justice. She was an avid reader and gifted piano player. She loved Northern Michigan, traveling each year to Empire, Michigan, where she wrote poetry and enjoyed peaceful solitude. She was known for her being a good listener, providing thoughtful advice, and having a kind heart. She is survived by her son Nicholas (Gina) Ehrlich, her daughter Emily (John Christensen) Ehrlich, along with her beloved grandchildren Claire Seelig, Collin Ehrlich, Ethan Seelig, and Micaela Ehrlich. A memorial service will be held at Muehlig Funeral Chapel in Ann Arbor on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. Visitation begins at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.