* Youssef K. Mawardi; Psychiatrist and Scientist

Dr. Youssef K. Mawardi, a retired psychiatrist, research scientist and professor, died May 16 at his home in Ojai. He was 86.

He was born Sept. 21, 1913, in Cairo, and attended Ecole Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, a French school in the Egyptian capital.

To master English, his parents sent him to London Polytechnic High School in England.

When he returned to Cairo, he became an assistant to G. von Anrep, chairman of physiology at the Kasr El-Aini Medical School of Cairo University, who encouraged Mawardi to join the medical school. In 1945, Mawardi received his two medical degrees.

He was granted a British Council scholarship and returned to London to complete a two-year internship at the Maudsley Institute of Psychiatry at London University.

Mawardi then moved back to Egypt where he started his own practice, which was popular because of his expertise in shock therapy.

Seeking additional opportunities in medical research, he left Egypt and moved to Baltimore in 1950. He joined Johns Hopkins Hospital there and worked for two years with an ex-student of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov.

After that, he worked at Barnes Hospital at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

Mawardi visited California and decided to move to Los Angeles in the early 1950s. He worked at the Good Samaritan Hospital and opened an office where he had a practice for more than 35 years. He was also an assistant clinical professor at UCLA; an independent medical examiner and a qualified medical evaluator. He was a member of seven medical societies.

In 1988, Mawardi closed his office and moved to Ojai. He joined the Ventura County Mental Health Department as a consultant and psychiatrist. He retired last year.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia, and brother, Osman of Cleveland..

Private graveside services have already been held.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mawardi’s name may be made to a charity of your choice or to the Rotary International Fund.

Arrangements were under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai.