Dr. Alexandra Botwin Lederer
February 24, 1928 - June 10, 2017
Alexandra Botwin Lederer, Ph.D., died on June 10 at the age of 89. She had been a psychologist in private practice in San Francisco for 59 years and was highly regarded and well loved by patients and colleagues alike. She was the wife of the psychiatrist Wolfgang Lederer, M.D. who predeceased her in January 2015; the mother of Nicole Lederer (Larry Orr) of Palo Alto and Audrey Wells Lederer (Brian Larky) of Santa Monica; and the grandmother of Natalie Orr, Genevieve Orr and Tatiana Radzik.
Alexandra’s early life was defined by the political upheavals of the 20th century. Her parents were fugitives from the Russian Revolution. They met in Bucharest, Romania where Alexandra was born in 1928, their only child. During WWII she wore the yellow star identifying her as a Jew, and carried a cyanide pill on her person at all times. She survived bombings by enemies and allies; threats of deportation to extermination camps; scary encounters with unruly soldiers; and years of situational precariousness which was the common fate of displaced persons in transition in the wake of the war.
In 1948, on the verge of completing a double degree in Psychology and Comparative Literature at the University of Bucharest, there was a window of opportunity to leave for the West just before the Iron Curtain fell over Eastern Europe. She was able to go to Paris and earn a graduate degree in psychology from the Sorbonne, before emigrating to the United States in 1951. She was granted a scholarship at Cornell University and completed her Ph.D. in Psychology in 1954.
While working at a psychiatric clinic in Brooklyn, she met her future husband, Wolfgang Lederer, M.D., during a trip to San Francisco. He was a kindred spirit, had grown up in Vienna, had fought in the U.S. Army during WWII, was in an allied profession, had read the same books, and after a whirlwind courtship they took a leap of faith and were married in December 1955.
Alexandra Botwin, Ph.D. was deeply identified with her professional life at a time when many American women were under the spell of the “Feminine Mystique”. She became an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco, a member of the California and of the American Psychological Associations, a successful psychotherapist and teacher, and one of the women who, early on, were able to combine a career and family life.
She was truly committed to her patients and made a positive impact on many lives. She loved people, the Arts, and the beauty of the world. She read voraciously and thrived on intellectual stimulation. Together with her husband she raised their daughters, made warm friendships, gave enjoyable dinner parties, traveled extensively, and participated in the cultural life of the Bay Area.
When in recent times, due to spinal problems, she lost part of her mobility and independence, she had occasion to be moved and grateful for the exceptional way her friends surrounded her. She remained in practice until shortly before she died, continuing her dedication to her endeavor. She will be remembered lovingly