Silvia L. Bogen, a Pioneer in Sex Education, Dies at 84

Silvia L. Bogen, a longtime advocate of improved child guidance services and sex education for schoolchildren, died Monday after a long bout with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 84.

Mrs. Bogen, one of the nation’s pioneers in sex education, advocated such programs in public schools at a time when many local governments were reluctant to discuss the topic openly. During the 1950s, she pressed for programs and helped to make Anaheim one of the first school districts in the country to incorporate sex education into its curriculum.

She was state chairwoman for parent education of the California Parent-Teachers Assn. and, in her later years, lectured frequently on positive aspects of aging.

Mrs. Bogen, born in Brooklyn, moved to Southern California with her family early in the century. She graduated from Hollywood High School in 1922 and received a bachelor’s degree from UCLA in 1926. Mrs. Bogen lived in Newport Beach for 36 years until her death.

She is survived by three children, M.D. Bogen, Judy B. Rosener and Bobby Lovell, as well as three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Services have yet to be announced.