Elta Pfister Coombs; Retired School Psychologist

Elta Pfister Coombs, a school psychologist and former member of the state Board of Psychological Examiners who was prominent in Burbank civic affairs for many years, has died in Laguna Beach. She was 85.

A former resident of Burbank, Mrs. Coombs died Friday of a stroke, said her husband, former state Sen. William Coombs.

Born April 2, 1905, in Sanborn, Minn., she came to California in the early 1920s and began working in 1924 as a sixth-grade teacher at Thomas Edison Elementary School in Burbank. She later worked as supervisor of attendance and child welfare before becoming director of individual guidance in 1942. She worked as a school psychologist for the district until her retirement in 1970.

She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate from USC and received her diploma from the American Board of Professional Psychology in 1971. She was also on the state Board of Psychological Examiners from 1967 to 1974, serving as president for one year, her husband said.

Named Woman of the Year in 1949 by the Women’s Council of Burbank, she served on the Traffic and Safety Board in Burbank from 1952 to 1956, was a life member of the advisory board of the Salvation Army’s Burbank chapter and was a former president of the Burbank Library Board. In 1964, she was honored by the state Legislature for her community work.

Mrs. Coombs is survived by her husband of five years; a son, Nelson Henry Pfister of Newport Beach; a grandson and a granddaughter. Her first husband, Nelson O. Pfister, died in the mid-1960s.

A graveside service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday at Forest Lawn Memorial Park-Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive.