Elsie Zala

May 21, 1925 - November 14, 2022

SAN DIEGO — Elizabeth “Elsie” Frances Zala, died peacefully in her sleep, on November 14, 2022, at the age of 97 years 6 months in San Diego, California.

Elsie was born in the tenements of Queens, New York, to Hungarian immigrants. She began her college education at Hunter College and ended with a B.A. in Spanish at The University of Michigan. She later earned a Master’s degree in Spanish from UCLA, a Master’s degree from Cal State LA in Rehabilitation Counseling, and finally, a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from United States International University in San Diego.

She was fluent in six languages, an avid crossword puzzle enthusiast, a strong folk singer and guitar player, and a consummate world traveler. She was a prolific writer of short stories about her formative years and wrote a novel inspired by her mother’s trials and joys, emigrating from Budapest to New York City in 1911.

Professionally, she was a caring therapist in both English and Spanish. She taught graduate psychology courses at SDSU, USIU, and National University until the age of 75. She was also a charter member of Carl Roger’s Center for the Study of the Person in San Diego.

All who knew her, would agree she was a very bright, talented, renaissance woman with a contagious sense of humor and a big heart. She was a complex person who experienced many highs and lows in her life.

She is survived by her younger sister Nancy Zala, her daughter Jana Frances-fischer, son-inlaw, Carl Fischer, grandson Jake Frances-fischer, and three stepdaughters by marriage to her second husband: Ann Finn, Dorothy Bustamante and Amy Stotts.

A Celebration of Life Commemoration will occur in California in February 2023.

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