Dr. Elizabeth June Yerxa passed away in December 2024 at the age of 94.
Betty was hired in 1956 to work in Rancho’s OT Department as our very first Instructor!
Her role was to develop an education and research program to assure that the quality of care continued to improve, and that Rancho OT be in the national forefront for advancing the knowledge and skills for the treatment of chronically disabled patients. She served as an OT Instructor for 11 years before returning to school to obtain her graduate and doctorate degrees. Betty returned to Rancho in 1971 as the OT Research Coordinator with a joint faculty appointment at USC. In 1976 she was selected as the chairperson of the USC Department of Occupational Therapy then located on the Rancho campus.
When the OT profession celebrated its Centennial in 2017, Dr. Yerxa was honored as one of “The 100 Influential Persons” who impacted occupational therapy’s 100-year history, stating:
“Elizabeth is highly regarded for her contributions to the philosophical base and values of occupational therapy, for her research on life satisfaction of people living with severe disabilities, and for her work initiating and advocating occupational science research. It was through her scholarly leadership that USC initiated a doctoral program to support the study of occupational science. Yerxa was awarded the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Award in 1966, was named an AOTA Fellow in 1973, and received the AOTA Award of Merit in 1987.”
Dr. Yerxa spent her OT clinical and academic careers committed to promoting the healing power of engaging patients in productive and meaningful activity.
Please consider supporting her legacy by donating to the Rancho Works Café & Gift Shop which honors that fundamental belief in occupation by “Changing Lives One Job at a Time."
To make a one-time or recurring donation click here: Donate Now
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