Edith R. Wyden, 91, a resident of Palo Alto, died June 19 of advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
She was born May 26, 1920, in Koenigsberg, Germany, the daughter of Dr. George and Else Rosenow. The family fled Nazi Germany in 1936, first going to Iraq and emigrating to the United States in 1939.
She graduated from the University of Rochester with a B.A. cum laude in 1941, majoring in archaeology. She graduated from Yale University with an M.A. in Oriental Studies in 1943. She was fluent in German, French and Spanish.
From April 1944 to May 1946, she served in the WAC (Women’s Army Corps) in England, France and Germany. She was assigned to the United States Group Control Council, which was the planning unit for the occupation of Germany.
She married her husband, the late Peter Wyden, in 1947, and they were divorced in 1959. She had two sons, the late Jeffrey Wyden and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Portland, Ore.
She had a long and distinguished professional career as an industrial economist, researcher and reference librarian. She worked at the Stanford Research Institute, Stanford University, and the United States Information Agency, among other challenging assignments.
At the time of her death, she lived at Channing House, an independent, not-for-profit life care retirement community in Palo Alto.
Ron Wyden said about his mother, “My mother was my role model, and she wore that mantle for so many others who came into her life. With quiet dignity, she was the consummate achiever, who somehow managed to lovingly raise my brother Jeff who suffered from schizophrenia, worked full time, and never missed one of my basketball
games. I have two daughters and both seem like my mom, which I will always be grateful for.”
She is survived by her son, Ron Wyden (Nancy) of Portland, Ore.; and four grandchildren, Adam, Lilly, Ava and William.
Alzheimer’s disease is an odd thing, and many people are actually quite young in 50s! Not alot to do for this disease, some meds, but no great outcomes.