Franz Epting (1937-2023)

Dr. Franz Epting, Emeritus Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Florida, passed away on June 19, 2023. He was born in Meridian, Mississippi to John Forest Epting and Love Stewart Epting on May 22, 1937. He grew up in Forest Mississippi and lived there until he entered Millsaps College in Jackson Mississippi in the fall of 1955. In 1959 he enrolled at the Ohio State University as a graduate student in Psychology and took his PhD in the spring of 1967. Franz lived in Gainesville, Florida from the time he came to the University of Florida in the fall of 1967 as what he called a "baby professor" until his passing. He taught at UF for 36 years until his retirement in 2003. He was also a member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Gainesville.

Franz taught and wrote about Humanistic Psychology and Personal Construct Psychology, which was his special area of expertise and his passion. He had many professional accomplishments. Among the most important was that he was president of Division 32 for Humanistic Psychology of the American Psychological Association in 2003 and later received the Abraham Maslow award from them for his lifetime's work. Franz published many professional articles, both research and theoretical, and in 1984 published his book "Personal Construct Counseling and Psychotherapy." In his retirement he worked on a biography of George Kelly, the creator of Personal Construct Psychology and Franz's professor at Ohio State. The biography will be completed by his former student Jonathan Raskin and published by Cambridge University Press. Franz was the kind of teacher who was loved by and had a profound impact on many of his students. As two former students wrote, "you know what an important part Franz played in our lives at a time when we were being shaped as the human beings we are now. Our world was so much better for his presence in it." Franz truly embodied the humanistic values that were the bedrock of what he taught.

He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his loving husband of 8 and a half years and partner of 28 and a half years, Mark Paris. He is also survived by two of his many cousins who were especially important to him, Cornelia Leach and Marion Register.

Burial and an informal ceremony of remembrance will take place at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery on Sunday, July 2, 2023 at 11:00. For those who wish, contributions may be made to the Human Rights Campaign. Arrangements are in the care of Milam Funeral and Cremation Services 311 S. Main Street Gainesville, FL 32601 (352) 376-5361 www.milamfh.com. 

Reproduced from Legacy.com.