By Karen Andrew
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Betty Louise Pingree Rellahan, a Cincinnati teacher, school administrator and volunteer who trained with famed child psychologist Dr. Bruno Bettelheim, died Nov. 4 at the Llanfair Retirement Community in College Hill.

The former Clifton resident was 79 and died of pneumonia.

Ms. Rellahan was born in 1923 to Floyd and Elvira Redborg Pingree in Elgin, Ill. She grew up in Batavia, Ill., where she graduated from high school in 1941. She attended Wheaton College and Rockford College, Rockford, Ill.

At Rockford, she met Dr. Bettelheim, who persuaded her to enter the University of Chicago, where she earned a bachelor's degree in general studies (1946) and a master's degree in human development (1948).

Ms. Rellahan became an assistant to Dr. Bettelheim at Chicago's Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, which provides clinical and treatment needs for troubled children and youth.

"She was a leader among his three assistants. Everybody looked to her for help," said her longtime friend, Gail Janowitz of Chicago, who worked with Ms. Rellahan at the school.

"We were best friends. She was a strong, intelligent person and a good, true friend to many."

In 1949, Ms. Rellahan accepted a position in Cincinnati with the Child Guidance Home, a school for developmentally disabled children.

In 1951, she moved to Hackettstown, N.J., where she accepted a position at Centenary College's Department of Psychology. While there, she met and married William L. Rellahan.

In 1956, the Rellahans moved to Cincinnati, where Mr. Rellahan became a chemistry professor at the University of Cincinnati.

After they divorced, Ms. Rellahan received her Ohio Teacher Certification in 1967. She became a special education teacher in the Cincinnati Public Schools and was promoted to a supervisor in the Special Education department.

In 1980, she earned a master's degree in education from UC.

After retiring in 1992, Ms. Rellahan remained active in the schools by volunteering at Fairview Elementary School.

"My mother devoted herself to the education of young children, particularly, though not exclusively, those who faced challenges in their lives," said her son, Michael E. Rellahan of West Chester, Pa. "She remained for all her life committed to the idea that public education would further social goals."

Her memberships included the board of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; the Delta Kappa Gamma Honorary Society for Women in Education; the Noonday Club of Cincinnati, a women's literary society; and the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati.

She supported fine arts in the region, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet and Playhouse in the Park.

She was preceded in death by a son, Peter Q. Rellahan.

In addition to her son, survivors include two daughters, Ellen E. Wathen of College Hill and Barbara L. Rellahan of Kensington, Md.; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Nov. 30 at the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, Linton and Reading roads, Avondale.

Memorials: Woodley House, 3000 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 138, Washington, D.C. 20008.

E-mail kandrew@enquirer.com