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Obituary: Martha Mattingly-Kristufek / Psychologist, longtime Pitt faculty member
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Martha Mattingly-Kristufek of Greenfield, a psychologist and longtime University of Pittsburgh faculty member with a career focus in direct developmental care for children, died Monday at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. She was 75.
Ms. Mattingly-Kristufek spent nearly four decades in the classroom, published a variety of articles in professional journals and presented at conferences worldwide, said Karen VanderVen, a former colleague at Pitt.
Ms. Mattingly-Kristufek worked in what Ms. VanderVen called a branch of human service, making contributions that professionalized the field of training and educating future child and youth workers. Those contributions included work on creating a code of ethics, researching worker burnout and work toward developing a national competency-based certification process for those who work with children.
"She had such a brilliant and sharp insight on things," said Ms. VanderVen, a professor emerita of psychology in education in Pitt's School of Education. "It was just fun to hear her take on anything."
A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Ms. Mattingly-Kristufek received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Ohio State University in 1959. She later attended Duquesne University, where she received master's and doctoral degrees in psychology in 1965 and 1969, respectively, her family said.
A licensed psychologist, she began a 37-year career at Pitt in 1969 as an adjunct instructor in child development/child care, according to the university. She retired in 2005 with the title Professor Emerita of Applied Developmental Psychology.
She remained active until her death, participating in conferences, including one she planned to attend this summer in Canada, Ms. VanderVen said.
"She never stopped learning. She was taking courses. She was my computer guru. She was my go-to person on computers," said nephew by marriage John Wilson of White Oak.
She was a member of the American Psychological Association and received several national awards for her work, her family said. The Association for Child and Youth Care Practice created a scholarship in her name, the Martha Mattingly Scholarship, giving financial help to child and youth workers to participate in national and overseas conferences, her family said.
Ms. Mattingly-Kristufek belonged to St. Rosalia Church in Greenfield. She sang in the choir for three decades. Her husband of 32 years, E. Richard "Dick" Kristufek, died in 2008.
Arrangements are being handled by the Edward P. Kanai Funeral Home, 500 Greenfield Ave.
First Published February 8, 2013 12:00 am
