Louise Mead Riscalla, a resident of Edison, NJ since 1971, passed away the very early morning of May 22. The cause of death was heart failure. Louise was born on March 26, 1932 in Hawthorne, NJ to Houston and Mary Mead. She was related to the noted anthropologist Margaret Mead. Louise earned both Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in psychology from St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Union Institute, Cincinnati, OH in 1978. She maintained lifelong friendships and correspondence with people from her college years. During her long career in clinical psychology, she worked at the Woodbridge Emergency Reception and Child Diagnostic Center and the NJ State Diagnostic Center, which primarily focused on court referred diagnostic assessment of children. She completed her career at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. She was a member of several professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Louise was an unconventional and ground-breaking thinker with wide-ranging interests. Her articles on attitudes of professionals toward patients, rehabilitation, psychological assessment, children's rights, chronic illness, women's issues, psychosomatic illness, among other topics, appeared in well over a hundred professional and scientific journals. She was a frequent state and national conference speaker and made radio and television appearances related to her areas of study. In her retirement, she was very active in state and local affairs, often testifying at legislative hearings in Trenton as well as at town council meetings in Edison. She also wrote opinion pieces on public affairs for the Home News Tribune for many years. Louise was a nature lover and supported many local and national conservation efforts and participated in local garden clubs and civic improvement associations. She was a prize-winning hobbyist photographer. She was also an avid cat lover, whose most recent animal companions were Oliver, Mittens, Mindy and Muffins. She is survived by her husband of fifty-seven years, Albert Riscalla, and her cousin Linda (Dominick) Longo. Memorial donations may be made, online, to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Visitation will be on Saturday, May 27, 2017 from 9:00 am until the time of the service at 10:30 am at Boylan Funeral Home 10 Wooding Ave., Edison. Interment will follow at Franklin Memorial Park, North Brunswick.