René V. Dawis

On January 11, 2026, a little over 1,000 days after his wife, Lydia, died, René V. Dawis rejoined her, going gentle in his long-time home in Prospect Park, Minneapolis, 2 weeks after his unexpected 97th birthday.  Unexpected because as a teenager he found himself caught in a muddy ditch as a fire-fight with Japanese soldiers raged around him.  Unexpected because René was once a habitual smoker who quit only when a doctor expressed interest in studying his diminished lung capacity.  René ended up outliving two of his pulmonologists.  At his last birthday party he was surrounded by family, including a 4-month-old great-grandchild who flew in from the West Coast, and by music, nostalgic Filipino and American tunes performed by his favorite pianist (after Lydia) and violinist.  For an entire great and grand generation, his strength declined but not his mind, solving Sudoku to the end.  René attended the University of Philippines and would have been class president, but he voted for his opponent and lost by 1 vote.  It was there that he was besotted by the musical, beautiful Lydia.  René and Lydia’s 71-year marriage was blessedly beset with 7 children, 17 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.  Fate twisted a trajectory toward possible priesthood for René into a spirited Roman Catholic family life for Lydia and René.  He received a B.A. (cum laude) in 1951.  In 1953, an American friend and Fulbright scholar in the tropical Philippines, who hailed from St. Paul, guided him to the wintry North Star state.  After selling everything, borrowing 5,000 Filipino pesos from a rich friend, and another 500 pesos from their priest, René and Lydia made their way to Minneapolis on a diplomatic passport.  He received his master’s degree in 1955 and his Ph.D. in 1956 from the University of Minnesota.  They returned to the Philippines intending to make a life there but were drawn back to Minneapolis in 1957.  This time at the U of M, René was a research associate and then a foreign-visiting associate professor, entering the Department of Psychology by way of an industrial relations back door.  With strong supporters, he rose to the rank of tenured full professor in 1965 due to publications about the Theory of Work Adjustment.  He also headed the Counseling Psychology Program from 1975 to 1985.  In turn, René advised 78 Ph.D. candidates—or was it over 100?—through a revolving door.  He would come home every day to share lunch with his Lydia, washing the dishes before returning to work.  René became an emeritus professor in 1997.  In 1999, he received the Leona Tyler Award from the Society of Counseling Psychology.  Weeks before she died, Lydia summed up their life together with family: “Who would have thought we would have ended up in Minnesota … it’s been good.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in René’s memory to Catholic Relief Services, PBS, or St. Thomas More Immigrant Support Resources.