CHESTER, Vt. – Dr. David Alan Lord, 89, formerly of Chester, Vt., died at his home in Palm City, Fla. on May 14 of lymphoma. He was born in Manchester, N.H., a son of Frederick J. Lord Sr. and Gladys Graves Lord, who predeceased him.
He earned a B.A. degree in psychology at the University of New Hampshire, an M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Tennessee, a post-doctoral fellowship at Austin Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Mass., and a Certificate in Psychoanalysis from William Alanson White Institute in NYC.
Dr. Lord began his career as chief psychologist for the Bureau of Mental Health, US Virgin Islands. He later became Associate Director of the Counseling Service at Columbia College, NYC, and went on to establish a private practice of psychoanalysis, group and individual psychotherapy, and marital therapy in New York City and Greenwich, Conn. He was also an attending psychologist at Payne Whitney Clinic, NYC, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College, NYC, where he supervised in- and out-patient psychotherapy.
In 1998, Dr. Lord moved to Chester, Vt., where he established a private practice, and later joined the VA Medical Center in White River Junction as a staff psychologist. He was appointed to the faculty of the Dartmouth Medical School internship program.
Dr. Lord balanced his rigorous work life with his passion for sailing and the sea. He was a licensed U.S. Coast Guard captain, a skilled navigator, and a sailing instructor at the Old Greenwich Yacht Club in Connecticut. It was there that he met his wife of 41 years, Kathy Pellett, who survives him. He was active in Chester, serving on the boards of the First Universalist Parish, the Whiting Library, and on the Ethics Committee of the Vermont Psychological Association.
Survivors also include a daughter from a previous marriage, Alison Lord of Portland, Ore.; a brother Gary Lord of Brookfield, Vt., and many other family members.
A memorial service will be held Oct. 28, at the First Universalist Parish, Chester, Vt. Memorial donations may be made to Whiting Library, Chester, Vt.