Dr. Sylvia Levine Ginsparg Ph.D., beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, colleague, and friend to many, passed away Sunday, May 29, 2022. She was 90.

Dr. Ginsparg excelled academically, graduating high school at age 16 and then receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Roosevelt University at age 19, her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University at age 21, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from Washington University at age 24.

After a couple of postdoctoral appointments, Dr. Ginsparg became a staff psychologist at the prestigious Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas. She practiced there until 1976 when she moved to St. Louis to go into private practice and to begin her studies to become a psychoanalyst at the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. Dr. Ginsparg graduated in the theory of psychoanalysis in 1982 and in child psychoanalysis in 1985. She then continued in her private practice as a psychoanalyst. She became a member of the faculty of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute and a clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at St. Saint Louis University Medical School.

Dr. Ginsparg was a Fellow of Sigma Xi and a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Orthopsychiatric Association (member editorial board), the Kansas Psychological Association (member board of governors), the Topeka Psychological Association, the Missouri Psychological Association, Psychologists Interested in the Study of Psychoanalysis (program chairman, president for multiple terms, and secretary-treasurer), the American Psychoanalytic Association, the International Psychoanalytic Association, the New York Freudian Society, and the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Society. Dr. Ginsparg was a Life Member of the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute.

Dr. Ginsparg was a prolific author of papers and articles including a co-authored research paper titled Reactions of Young People to the Kennedy Assassination, which was cited in an Appendix to the Warren Commission report. She also wrote a book titled Never Again: Echoes of the Holocaust as Understood Through Film based on over twenty years of her reviews of films created by writers, directors, and actors who were either first or second-generation survivors of the Holocaust.

Dr. Ginsparg had a lifelong commitment to Judaism and to Jewish causes. She was one of the founding members of Central Reform Congregation and a long-time member of Temple Shaare Emeth, a member of the Board of Directors of both the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and the Heartland Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, and a member of the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival.

She also loved music, a love that she learned from her beloved parents, Sidney (z”l) and Helen (z’’l) Levine. Taught by her mother, a piano teacher, she played the piano her entire life. She was a season ticket holder to the Topeka Civic Symphony and the St. Louis Symphony and traveled to see concerts at Ravinia, Tanglewood, and several cities in Europe.

Dr. Ginsparg was the dear mother of Joel (Lynda) and Dan (z”l) (Lori), dear grandmother of Ben, Jacob, Rebecca, Ari, and Aaron, dear sister of Mickey Berman, dear aunt, cousin, and friend to many.

A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, June 1 at 10:30 AM at Chevra Kadisha Cemetery, 1601 North and South Rd, St. Louis, MO 63130. Please visit bergermemorialchapel.com for more information.

Memorial contributions preferred to the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum https://www.jfedstl.org/community-engagement/holocaust-museum/, the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute https://www.stlpi.org/, or a charity of your choice. 

BERGER MEMORIAL SERVICE