Dr. Ellen Patricia Saumer Berscheid

Dr Ellen Patricia Saumer Berscheid, was welcomed into the kingdom of heaven on May 22, 2025. Ellen was born on October 11, 1936 in Colfax, Wisconsin, in the house her grandfather built, while the church bells rang. She was proud of her heritage being of the family that founded Colfax. The family moved from Colfax to Reno, Nevada where she graduated high school. Beginning her college life at Beloit College in Wisconsin with the thought to major in mathematics, an area in which she had a high aptitude. Ellen then transferred to the University of Nevada Reno. Taking the obligatory introductory psychology class with the mindset to “simply get it over with”, her interest was piqued. At Reno, Paul Secord introduced her to Heider’s psychology and graduated with a BA and MA in 1960. Reno is also where she met her husband, Dewey Berscheid. They married in 1959 until his passing in 2005. The couple moved to Minneapolis, where she earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1965, where she started her career as a social psychologist. At Minnesota, Ellen’s graduate work with Eliott Aronson then was followed by her significant work on relationships with Elaine Hatfield. Her research studies on physical attractiveness and love are field defining. Her multiple books are texts in many universities.

She received, amongst others, the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, the Donald T. Campbell Award for Distinguished Research in Social Psychology from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, the International Association for Relationship Research’s Distinguished Career Contribution Award, and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also received William Proxmire’s Golden Fleece Award; expanding her renown and elevating the discussions on the nature of love and close relationships. She was President of the International Society for the Study of Interpersonal Relationships from 1991-1992 and President of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology from 1983-1985. She also served three terms on the Executive Board of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. In 2003, she received the Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association.

In 1988, she was named Regent’s professor at the University of Minnesota, their highest honor. She was with the university until ultimately retiring in 2010.

Ellen’s love of animals was well known. From Dinky, the puppy given to her by her father when she was a baby, to Gracie, who survives her and all the dogs and cats and deer in between. She loved them all. She was a caring and generous person.

Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Mike and Steve and her sister, Mary.

She is survived by sister-in-law, Judy Saumer (Steve), brother-in-law, Jim Anderson (Mary), brother-in-law, George Berscheid (Paula) and many nieces and nephews and cousins.

Special thank you to Cornerstone Caregiving and St. Croix Hospice.

Memorials on Ellen’s behalf can be made to the Dunn County Humane Society or the ASPCA.

To share a memory, please visit obituaries at www.olsonfuneral.com