In Memoriam

Dennis Upper

Obituary

The Winchester Star

October 2, 2018

Brilliant clinical psychologist Dr. Dennis Upper dies at age 76

Early Monday morning, September 17, Dr. Dennis Upper suffered an accidental fall down 13 stairs and hit his head on the wall at the bottom. The blow broke multiple bones in his neck, tore neck arteries, caused cranial bleeding, and briefly stopped his heart. He died at 7:12 pm Tuesday, September 18, 2018.

Upper's brilliant career as a clinician, program director, and operations executive spanned 50 years. He excelled at the full range of psychological services, including individual treatment, group therapy, couples therapy, outpatient clinics, substance abuse treatment programs, PTSD programs, program development, and behavioral medicine.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he worked as a deckhand and professional musician while attending high school and college. After graduating as valedictorian of his high-school class, he earned his B.A. in English from Yale University, his M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Cincinnati, his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Case Western Reserve University, and the prestigious Diplomate in Clinical Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology.

In addition to his clinical, management, and executive successes, Upper held adjunct teaching and supervisory positions at Harvard and Northeastern Universities and the Harvard Medical School.

Upper was an equally brilliant writer and poet. He edited twelve professional books, wrote more than thirty professional articles, and had his poems and short stories published in more than fifty literary journals. His 2007 memoir Long Story Short — a collection of one hundred vivid, thoughtful, funny, sad, and profound stories from his life — continues to captivate readers.

Upper is survived by Winchester, Massachusetts resident Nancy Upper, his wife of 51 years, and his son Jason Upper, a resident of Aspen, Colorado. Long Story Short probes how memories shape our lives, and how writing about them leads to personal growth.

Please write your memories of Dr. Dennis Upper and email them to Nancy at nancyupper@comcast.net. Please include photos if you have them. Thank you.