GILMANTON - Wendy Elizabeth “Svarna” Wilkens died peacefully at her Gilmanton home on August 22, 2016 with her family around her.
Daughter of William B. Wilkens and Laurose (Schulze-Berge) Wilkens MacFadyen, she was born December 9, 1942 in New York, New York. She was predeceased by her parents and her brother, William B. Wilkens Jr. and is survived by two sisters, Joanne Wilkens and Phyllis Weston of Gilmanton, a brother John Wilkens and numerous nieces and nephews.
Wendy graduated from Laconia High School and Sweet Briar College, spending her junior year in Madrid, Spain. After college she served in the Peace Corps in Thailand for two years where she taught English and developed an interest in Eastern religions and philosophy.
Upon returning home, she earned a Master’s Degree from Boston University and subsequently taught English as a Second Language at Harvard Summer School and the University of San Francisco. Wendy was a founding director of the English Center for International Women at Mills College in Oakland, California where she taught English for several years.
Wendy’s interest moved from education to psychology when she discovered the work of the pioneer hypnotherapist and psychiatrist Milton Erickson. She traveled to Arizona to study with Dr. Erickson and was certified to practice alchemical hypnotherapy, which she later integrated into her doctoral studies in psychology.
Wendy’s interest in Eastern philosophy developed into a deep spiritual practice that inspired her family and friends. Seeking to understand the relationship of Eastern philosophy to human psychology, she accompanied Zen Master Seung Sahn on a walking pilgrimage to Buddhist sites in India, and spent time with the philosopher Rajneesh Osho at his International Meditation Center in Pune, India. She subsequently earned a PhD in counseling psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies integrating her knowledge of Eastern practices into her own clinical therapy work. Wendy was a licensed clinical psychologist maintaining private practices in both Gilmanton, New Hampshire and Carmel, California.
Wendy lived courageously and independently at her much loved home in Gilmanton in spite of progressive ALS, and enjoyed the beautiful views and wildlife that surrounded her. Memorial donations may be made to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, PO Box 173, Holderness, NH 03245.
A memorial service will be held at 11AM on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at the Gilmanton Community Church, located at the corner of Route 107 and Route 140 in Gilmanton.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family with the arrangements.