Dorothy Field; Gerontologist at UC Berkeley

Dorothy Field, 74, gerontologist who was director of the Berkeley Older Generation Study since 1980. The longitudinal study examined a large random sampling of 470 parents of children born in Berkeley around 1928. Field was known for research into the attributes in earlier life that contribute most to a serene old age. She found that they included health, close relations with children and close contacts with friends. Field also found that many older people felt satisfied with their lives in their later decades. For instance, among those she called the “young-old,” the 50s were rated highest, but the 60s were as good as the 20s, 30s and 40s. Among the “old-old” (ages 73 to 93), later decades were rated almost as high as the 30s. Field, who was educated at Smith College, UC Berkeley and the University of London, taught at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Georgia and was a research associate at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Human Development. She was a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. On Aug. 27 of pneumonia at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley.