Louise (Greene) Richards

Louise Greene Richards, age 97 of Cayuga Heights, passed away Saturday, May 8, 2021 at her home.

Born November 29, 1923 in Oakfield, NY she was the daughter of the late Walter and Lucille Calkins Greene. Education was very important in her life. Valedictorian of her Oakfield-Alabama Central School class of  1941, she received her Bachelor's in Home Economics from Cornell, her Master's in Textiles from Penn State, and her PhD in Social Psychology from Cornell. Louise attained honors and recognition in home economics, her Cornell major, before switching fields in 1957, to social psychology. She went on to be a national leader in this field, earning her PhD from Cornell in 1965 and becoming the Chief of Epidemiologic and Psychosocial Research for the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse. In this role in 1974, she launched the National Survey on Drug Abuse, which continues to be conducted today. Louise held many significant positions in the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies, and had won numerous awards for her research work. Louise loved to sew and made many of her own clothes. She also made fabric wall hangings with scraps of material.  She loved the opera and reading and was a member of the First Unitarian Church of Ithaca.

Louise is survived by her nephew, Mark (Susan) Reed; nieces, Rebecca (Dave) Schaffer and Janelle (Scott) Tate; several great nieces and nephews.  In addition, she was predeceased by her sister, Norma Reed and brother, Richard Greene.

Funeral services will be held at 11 am Thursday, May 13, 2021 at Perkins Funeral Home, 55 W. Main St., Dryden, NY with Rev. Margaret Weis officiating. Friends may call from 10:30 until 11 am prior to the service.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice. 

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