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Naomi Rae-Grant, M.D. (1929–1998)
IN
MEMORIAM
Naomi Rae-Grant, M.D. (1929-1998) It is by spendingoneselfthat one becomes rich. -Sarah Bernhardt, 1844-1923 It was with great sadness, love, and respect that we experienced the death of Dr. Naomi Rae-Grant in October 1998. She had always been an extraordinary mentor, friend, and teacher, and it was characteristic of her that she continued to teach us about dying during her protracted terminal illness. Her most enduring contribution was a long-term commitment to the care of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders, especially in the area of preventive services. Naomi received her medical degree from the University of London. She subsequently trained at the renowned Institute of Psychiatry in London, and then at Washington University in St. Louis. She later became Clinical Director of the Ellen Steinberg Child Psychiatry Division of the Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, and then Associate Professor and Acting Director of the Division of Child Psychiatry at the University of Maryland. In 1969, she moved with her husband, Quentin, to Toronto, where she became Director of the newly formed Ontario Children's Mental Health Services Branch. She continued her steadily advancing academic career asAssociate Professor in Child Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and then became full Professor at McMaster University and later at the University of Western Ontario, where she was Head of the Division of Child Psychiatry until her retirement in June 1995. During her academic evolution, she was involved in numerous national and international task forces and committees relating to child, adolescent, and family health policies. For example, she was on the Ontario Premier's Council on Health Strategies between 1988 and 1993 and was a member of the Committee on Prevention of Mental Disorders of the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., which produced its landmark report in 1994. She was a Fellow of our American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, where she was on the Committee on Government Policy and Private Practice, the Committee on Prevention, and the Advisory Committee on Project Prevention. She was also on the Editorial Board for this Journal. Her emphasis and wisdom as Chair of the Committee of Preventive Psychiatry of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry led to a recent (1999) paper in this Journal on the prevention of violence in children and youth. In 1997, Naomi received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Academy. She was also a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow and Vice-President of the American Orthopsychiatric Association. In Canada, she became an Honorary Member of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, was a Council Member of the Ontario Psychiatric Association, and was on the Executive Council and later President of the Canadian Academy of Child Psychiatry. During a productive research career, Naomi documented her concerns about the many multiply handicapped and disturbed children she encountered as Director of the Children's Services Division of Ontario with a series of perceptive articles from 1965 to 1987. These dealt with the complex problems involved in setting up comprehensive and facilitating services for such children. Her further evolution as a clinician, administrator, and teacher led to such publications as her paper on the implications of primary prevention for training child psychiatrists, published in this Journal in 1982, and an excellent overview on the promising but frustrating state of preventive interventions in children and adolescents, in the Canadian Journal ofPublic Health in 1994. During her academic career subsequent to Toronto, she entered into a productive collaboration with the child epidemiology group at McMaster University headed by Dr. Dan Offord. She was an integral investigator in the Ontario Child Health Study, which produced fundamental studies about the prevalence, risk and protective factors, and correlates of disorder and service utilization in emotional and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents. She was first author or coauthor of many journal publications dealing particularly with the promotion of children's mental health and the prevention of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. She also contributed a large number of book chapters and will be particularly remembered for major chapters on primary prevention in Lewis' first two editions of the Comprehensive Textbook of ChildandAdolescent Psychiatry and on vulnerabilities, risk factors, strength, and resilience in Noshpitz, Harrison, and Eth's Handbook of ChildandAdolescent Psychiatry. Later in life, she continued her interest in risk and protective factors in children in care and in interventions for promoting resilience through secure attachment in adolescent mothers and their infants. Her presentations were numerous and varied, always relating to her concern for the child or adolescent from the perspective of early intervention and prevention. Naomi was a sparkling and lively conversationalist, tireless in her energies for those whom she served and enriching all who met and worked with her. Her capacity to combine her academic and public service career with necessary domestic demands as wife of Quentin Rae-Grant, himself an outstanding child and adolescent psychiatrist, educator, and researcher, and mother of their two fine sons, both of whom excel in their chosen fields, was exemplary. Life was not always simple or free from crises for Naomi, but her steadfast courage in the face of any adversity was coupled with wisdom and good humor. She continued in her steadfast path toward her ideals, while enriching those about her with grace, charm, humor, and affectionate concern. By spending herself and sharing her wonderful gifts, she clearly became enriched, as did those who knew her. And in a larger context, her contributions to the children and adolescents whom we serve was and is immeasurable. Brian J. McConville, M.D. Chair, Committee on Preventive Psychiatry, Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Simon Davidson, M.D. President, Canadian Academy of Child Psychiatry
J. AM. ACAD. CHILD ADOLESC. PSYCHIATRY, 39:3, MARCH 2000
393
MEMORIAM
Naomi Rae-Grant, M.D. (1929-1998) It is by spendingoneselfthat one becomes rich. -Sarah Bernhardt, 1844-1923 It was with great sadness, love, and respect that we experienced the death of Dr. Naomi Rae-Grant in October 1998. She had always been an extraordinary mentor, friend, and teacher, and it was characteristic of her that she continued to teach us about dying during her protracted terminal illness. Her most enduring contribution was a long-term commitment to the care of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders, especially in the area of preventive services. Naomi received her medical degree from the University of London. She subsequently trained at the renowned Institute of Psychiatry in London, and then at Washington University in St. Louis. She later became Clinical Director of the Ellen Steinberg Child Psychiatry Division of the Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, and then Associate Professor and Acting Director of the Division of Child Psychiatry at the University of Maryland. In 1969, she moved with her husband, Quentin, to Toronto, where she became Director of the newly formed Ontario Children's Mental Health Services Branch. She continued her steadily advancing academic career asAssociate Professor in Child Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and then became full Professor at McMaster University and later at the University of Western Ontario, where she was Head of the Division of Child Psychiatry until her retirement in June 1995. During her academic evolution, she was involved in numerous national and international task forces and committees relating to child, adolescent, and family health policies. For example, she was on the Ontario Premier's Council on Health Strategies between 1988 and 1993 and was a member of the Committee on Prevention of Mental Disorders of the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., which produced its landmark report in 1994. She was a Fellow of our American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, where she was on the Committee on Government Policy and Private Practice, the Committee on Prevention, and the Advisory Committee on Project Prevention. She was also on the Editorial Board for this Journal. Her emphasis and wisdom as Chair of the Committee of Preventive Psychiatry of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry led to a recent (1999) paper in this Journal on the prevention of violence in children and youth. In 1997, Naomi received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Academy. She was also a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow and Vice-President of the American Orthopsychiatric Association. In Canada, she became an Honorary Member of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, was a Council Member of the Ontario Psychiatric Association, and was on the Executive Council and later President of the Canadian Academy of Child Psychiatry. During a productive research career, Naomi documented her concerns about the many multiply handicapped and disturbed children she encountered as Director of the Children's Services Division of Ontario with a series of perceptive articles from 1965 to 1987. These dealt with the complex problems involved in setting up comprehensive and facilitating services for such children. Her further evolution as a clinician, administrator, and teacher led to such publications as her paper on the implications of primary prevention for training child psychiatrists, published in this Journal in 1982, and an excellent overview on the promising but frustrating state of preventive interventions in children and adolescents, in the Canadian Journal ofPublic Health in 1994. During her academic career subsequent to Toronto, she entered into a productive collaboration with the child epidemiology group at McMaster University headed by Dr. Dan Offord. She was an integral investigator in the Ontario Child Health Study, which produced fundamental studies about the prevalence, risk and protective factors, and correlates of disorder and service utilization in emotional and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents. She was first author or coauthor of many journal publications dealing particularly with the promotion of children's mental health and the prevention of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. She also contributed a large number of book chapters and will be particularly remembered for major chapters on primary prevention in Lewis' first two editions of the Comprehensive Textbook of ChildandAdolescent Psychiatry and on vulnerabilities, risk factors, strength, and resilience in Noshpitz, Harrison, and Eth's Handbook of ChildandAdolescent Psychiatry. Later in life, she continued her interest in risk and protective factors in children in care and in interventions for promoting resilience through secure attachment in adolescent mothers and their infants. Her presentations were numerous and varied, always relating to her concern for the child or adolescent from the perspective of early intervention and prevention. Naomi was a sparkling and lively conversationalist, tireless in her energies for those whom she served and enriching all who met and worked with her. Her capacity to combine her academic and public service career with necessary domestic demands as wife of Quentin Rae-Grant, himself an outstanding child and adolescent psychiatrist, educator, and researcher, and mother of their two fine sons, both of whom excel in their chosen fields, was exemplary. Life was not always simple or free from crises for Naomi, but her steadfast courage in the face of any adversity was coupled with wisdom and good humor. She continued in her steadfast path toward her ideals, while enriching those about her with grace, charm, humor, and affectionate concern. By spending herself and sharing her wonderful gifts, she clearly became enriched, as did those who knew her. And in a larger context, her contributions to the children and adolescents whom we serve was and is immeasurable. Brian J. McConville, M.D. Chair, Committee on Preventive Psychiatry, Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Simon Davidson, M.D. President, Canadian Academy of Child Psychiatry
J. AM. ACAD. CHILD ADOLESC. PSYCHIATRY, 39:3, MARCH 2000
393