Roberta Wong Bouverat

Chicago, Illinois Dr. Roberta Wong Bouverat (Associate Professor Emeritus) passed away peacefully after a long illness on October 24, 2013 at the age of 76. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 11, 1937 and with her family moved to the Seattle area as a young child. She grew up in Oak Harbor, graduated from Oak Harbor High School where she was valedictorian (1955) and received both her BA (1959) and Masters degree (1962) in Education at Western Washington University. Following several years of teaching young children in the Edmonds School District, the Skagit Valley, and the children of dependents in Germany, she received a Professional Diploma from Columbia University in 1968 and her PhD. in Early Childhood Education at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1970. Roberta taught at Woodring College of Education at Western Washington Universitys Department of Curriculum and Instruction for 20 years. After retirement from Western, she served as a Practicum Advisor for doctoral students in Education at Nova Southwestern University for 10 years. During her tenure at Western, Dr. Bouverat promoted the growth and establishment of undergraduate and graduate programs of Early Childhood Education to assist teachers of young children. She was primarily responsible for helping to establish the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education major within Westerns College of Education. She wrote, reviewed and critiqued dozens of professional articles, books and textbooks on the subject of Early Childhood Education. She traveled with educators and she helped lead students on three tours to China studying curriculum and educational programs for young children. She also traveled extensively assessing programs for young children in the United States and abroad. She was respected by her students for her knowledge, energy, positive outlook and for her many contributions to the field of education. She leaves an enduring legacy as she touched the lives of young children through students, teachers, and parents. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward C. and Helen E. Bouverat and an older brother Robert Bouverat. She is survived by her brother, Edward Bouverat of Atlanta, Georgia. Donations Information If you would like to honor her life and its many contributions to the education of young children, an endowment is being created. If you wish to contribute to this fund, gifts can be made to the Western Washington University (or WWU) Foundation, in her name. Send gift to 516 High St. Bellingham, WA or see link below.

Roberta Wong Bouverat

September 11, 1937 - October 24, 2013