Elizabeth B. Howes, 94; Pioneer in Integration of Psychology, Religion

Elizabeth Boyden Howes, 94, a pioneer in the integration of psychology and religion who founded retreat centers in California, died of natural causes March 6 at her home in Berkeley.

Howes was an analyst in the Jungian tradition who studied early in her career with New Testament scholar Henry Burton Sharman and psychologist Fritz Kunkel. Her studies led to a lifelong interest in combining the wisdom of Gospel texts with the insights of psychology, especially those found in the work of C.G. Jung, with whom she later studied.

With Kunkel, Howes founded the Pines, a retreat center near Yucaipa. In 1955, she founded, with colleagues Sheila Moon and Luella Sibbald, the Guild for Psychological Studies in San Francisco; and Four Springs, a 300-acre retreat near Middletown, about 85 miles north of San Francisco.

Howes’ published works include “Jesus; Answer to God, Intersection and Beyond” and “The Choicemaker,” co-authored with Moon. She also was a co-editor of “The Choice is Always Ours: An Anthology of the Religious Way,” which was published for 50 years.