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Ida Prouty Truscott

Dr. Ida Prouty Truscott, died Dec. 27, 2004, at the home of her son, Dr. Al Truscott, in Gig Harbor, Wash. She was 89 years old.She and her husband, Harry, built their Wildoak home in 1968 and moved to Snowmass Village in 1976. Dr. Truscott was co-founder of Response, and the now disbanded Aspen Women’s Forum.Ida supported Harry’s efforts as a member of the Snowmass Planning Commission, where he worked for responsible development, and as founder of the Aspen Housing Authority, through which he put considerable energy into developing affordable housing for local employees, culminating in the building of several housing projects specifically for that purpose, among them Truscott Place. Ida was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Oct. 1, 1915. After graduating from the University of Iowa, she worked briefly in Omaha, Neb., where she met Harry. They moved to Boston, where Harry was an engineer for General Electric, and Ida became a member of the first class at Harvard University to produce women graduates, taking her master’s degree in psychology.The couple then moved to Cincinnati, where Ida took her Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati. She practiced clinical psychology, did research, and taught at the university level, while raising her family. “Retirement” was not a word in her vocabulary, and after the move to Colorado, she continued her work as a clinical psychologist, with an office in Aspen.Dr. Truscott moved to Southern California in 1998, following Harry’s death, both for the warmth and to be near her daughter.The Truscotts were known for their dawn “Balloon Breakfasts,” during which friends were treated to eggs Benedict while watching the hot air balloons land in the fields above the Rodeo grounds, now Horse Ranch. Ida will be remembered by Wildoak neighbors walking with her dogs down Oak Ridge Road, often wearing a red beret. Those who knew her will be pleased to hear that she was her funny, feisty, smart and gracious self until the last moment.Ida is survived by her son Al, daughter-in-law Cheryl Hanna, grandchildren Cody, Shaine, and Annie Truscott, all of Gig Harbor, Wash., and daughter Leigh and son-in-law Craig Weatherwax, of Cardiff, Calif., and many, many friends, all of whom will miss her dearly.Donations in honor of Ida’s memory may be made to Response, P.O. Box 1340, Aspen, CO 81612, and The Ida Prouty Truscott Scholarship for the Higher Education of Women in Science and the Arts, Abraham Lincoln High School, c/o Ginger Morgan, 1205 Bonham St., Council Bluffs, IA 51503.A memorial service is being planned for the first week of March at the Snowmass Chapel. Please check local papers for details.