HAMPDEN – Charity Eva Runden, Ph.D., 98, passed away June 7, 2009, with her family at her side at a Bangor health care facility. She was born Oct. 1, 1910, in Lake City, Minn., to Harley Williams and Edith Burchard Williams. She graduated from Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in Latin and English. She earned a Master of Science degree from the University of North Carolina in public health and after served as health education consultant for North Carolina and Indiana. She earned a doctorate in psychology from Indiana University in 1952. She taught at Indiana University; the University of Kentucky; Western Illinois University, where she was director of graduate studies; and for 21 years at Montclair State University, New Jersey, where she was professor of psychology and later dean of women. There she introduced a course, English as a Second Language, for foreign students at the university and established the Educational Foundation for Human Sexuality. Her publications were: “Adolescence: Sexuality and Related Concerns,” “Selected Readings in Sex Education” and “Twentieth Century Educators.” In 1989 the national Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality granted her its annual award for her contributions. After her retirement she directed an institute for patients with sexual problems. In April 2008, she was one of a number of people the Maine Health Care Association awarded Certificates of Lifetime Achievement in a ceremony presided over by Gov. Baldacci in the Hall of Flags at the State House. She was honored for her pioneering as an advocate, educator and recognized expert in human sexuality in the 1960s. As a poet her work has appeared in “The Humanist,” “Ball State Forum,” “Midwest Poetry Review,” “Ladybug,” “Laurels,” “Anthology of Unitarian Universalist Poets” and in a chapbook, “No Freedom But the Gesture.” She and her husband moved from Forked River, N.J., to Avalon Village, Hampden, and both are members of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, John; her daughter, Dr. Ingrid Eve Runden and her son, Zenon Chmilewsky, of Hampden; her daughter-in-law, Msu Mei Runden of New York City; her sister, Verda Booth of Bluffton, Ind.; numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her son, John Jr.; four sisters and two brothers. The family thanks Stillwater Health Care and Community Health and Counseling Services Hospice for their loving care. A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, at Hampden-Gilpatrick Funeral Home, 45 Western Ave., Hampden, with the Rev. Becky Gunn, Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor, officiating. Gifts in her memory may be made to Edythe Dyer Community Library, 269 Main Road North, Hampden, ME 04444. Messages of condolence and memories may be shared through www.hampdengilpatrick.com.
CHARITY EVA RUNDEN, PH.D.
