Vivian Gay Deitrich-MacLean died suddenly on July 10, 2024, while on vacation in Southern Colorado at the age of 69.
She was born to Richard and Margaret (Burkholder) Deitrich in Del Norte, Colo. She lived her childhood in Baltimore, Md., and Denver, Colo. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and received a bachelor’s degree in social work from Colorado State University in 1978. She worked as a program specialist at the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver Colorado for four years before moving to Nashville, Tenn., to study at Vanderbilt University where she received master’s and PhD degrees in clinical psychology. She completed an internship in clinical psychology at the Children’s Hospital and Judge Baker Children’s Center of Harvard University Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
She went on to develop independent practices in Nashville, Tenn., Laramie, Wyo. and Madison, Wis., over the next three decades as she and her family moved around the country. As a clinical psychologist, she worked initially with children and youth but gradually transitioned to a practice focused on adults, families and couples. She was a gifted clinician who had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients achieve a more fulfilling life. Although skilled in psychological assessment and therapy, it was her boundless empathy that helped her clients overcome their issues.
She enjoyed the outdoors, particularly bicycling, hiking, camping and fishing. At home, she loved flower and vegetable gardening, feeding birds, reading books, and solving puzzles. She also enjoyed traveling and this became a major focus for her and her husband in retirement. But most of all, she loved her dogs.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Margaret and Dick, and her brother-in-law, Greg Hight.
She is survived by her husband of 39 years, William (Bill) MacLean; children Will MacLean and Michael (Courtney) MacLean; granddaughter Sophronia, grandson Cassian, sisters Leslie (Tom) Shivers and Lori Hight, an uncle Craton (Mardell) Burkholder, nieces, nephews, cousins, and many loving friends.
A celebration of life will be held in the near future. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Cathedral Home in Laramie, Wyo., or the Laramie Animal Welfare Society (LAWS).
