Dorothy Natsui

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Dorothy Natsui
Born
Shimeno Natsui

April 28, 1909
Maui, Hawaii, U.S.
DiedJuly 4, 2005 (age 96)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Other namesDorothy S. Lafon
OccupationPsychiatrist

Dorothy Shimeno Natsui Lafon (April 28, 1909[1] – July 4, 2005) was an American psychiatrist and public health official in Hawaii.[2]

Early life and education

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Natsui was born in Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, the daughter of Harukichi Natsui and Moto Maeda Natsui.[3] Both of her parents were born in Japan.[4] She visited Japan in the summer of 1927, with other Hawaii-born teenagers of Japanese parentage.[5] She attended Maui High School, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Illinois. She earned her bachelor's degree and her medical degree at Loyola University Chicago,[6][7] where she was one of four women in her graduating class.[2][8] After World War II, she studied electroencephalography at Bellevue, Hospital, and child psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University.

Career

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Natsui served an internship at a hospital in Janesville, Wisconsin,[9] and held a residency at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu.[2] She opened an office in Kahului in early 1938,[10] and in Wailuku later that year,[11] She was an active member of the Maui Japanese Civic Association in 1939.[12] In 1940 she joined the University Japanese Club in Honolulu.[13] She presented a paper at the Honolulu County Medical Society meeting in October 1941.[14]

She was a child psychiatrist with the Hawaii Board of Health's Bureau of Mental Hygiene[15] from 1947[16] to 1949.[17] In 1966, she was named director of the child guidance outpatient clinic at Kauikeolani Children's Hospital.[18] She was sometimes called upon to examine criminal defendants.[19][20] She lectured on mental health topics, such as sexuality,[21] stress and relaxation,[22][23] and fear,[24] to women's groups and professional organizations.[25][26]

Publications

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  • "Residues of Early Father-Child Conflict" (1970, with Clyde L. Rousey)[27]

Personal life

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Natsui married psychologist[28] Fred Earl La Fon in 1954;[29] he died in 1963.[30] She died in 2005, at the age of 96, in Honolulu.[31] Her gravesite is with her husband's, in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

References

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  1. ^ 1910 is the birth year given in most sources, including her gravestone; however, her birth certificate was issued with this 1909 date, and the U.S. Social Security Claims Index has her birth year as 1909; via Ancestry.
  2. ^ a b c Lawder, Katharine W. (1948-09-11). "Dorothy Natsui is One of Hawaii's Outstanding Women Psychiatrists". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Dorothy S. Natsui, Medical Student, is Back for Vacation". Nippu Jiji. June 28, 1934. p. 9 – via Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection.
  4. ^ United States Federal Census for 1920, via Ancestry.
  5. ^ "Maui-Born Japanese Will Visit Orient". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1927-05-10. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Japanese Students' Christian Association in North America (1935). The directory of Japanese students in North America. Columbia University Libraries. p. 49 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Loyola University of Chicago (1934). The Loyolan. Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Chicago, Published by the students of Loyola University. p. 80 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Loyola University Chicago, The Loyolan (1935 yearbook): 92.
  9. ^ "Miss Natsui, New M.D." Jitsugyo no Hawai. July 1, 1935. pp. 6E – via Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection.
  10. ^ "Dr. Natsui to Open Office at Kahului". Maui Rekodo. January 28, 1938. p. 1 – via Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection.
  11. ^ "Dr. Natsui to Open Office in Wailuku Sun." Maui Shinbun (November 4, 1938): 1; via Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection.
  12. ^ "Maui Japanese Civic Banquet Set for Friday". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1939-06-06. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "New Members to Be Initiated into Japanese Club". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1940-03-29. p. 16. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Medical Society Meets at Kaneohe". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1941-10-04. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Notes and News". Hawaii Medical Journal. 7 (3): 247. January–February 1948 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ "Rhoads Named New Statistics Chief". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1947-09-19. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Dr. Natsui Resigns Mental Hygiene Post". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1949-03-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Children's Adds New Clinic". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1966-02-08. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Why?". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1965-07-05. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Sanity tests ordered for Mrs. Young". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1965-12-07. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Sex Discipline Isn't Inhibition, Speakers Note". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1959-04-23. p. 21. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Haven, Helen de (1962-08-04). "Find Your Stress Level, Psychiatrist Advises". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Zimmerman, Jovita (1958-04-09). "Psychiatrist Analyzes Traits of Hawaii's Racial Groups". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 40. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Notes and News". Hawaii Medical Journal. 14 (2): 153. November–December 1954 – via Internet Archive.
  25. ^ "Kuakini Women's Auxiliary to Hear Dr. Natsui Aug. 2" Hawaii Hōchi (July 28, 1962): 10; via Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection.
  26. ^ "Dr. Dorothy Natsui Will Address Zontas". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1950-03-09. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Lafon, Dorothy Natsui, and Clyde L. Rousey. "Residues of Early Father-Child Conflict" The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 150(5)(May 1970): 366-370.
  28. ^ "Fred E. Lafon Heads Local Psychologists". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1958-07-12. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-11-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Notes and News". Hawaii Medical Journal. 14 (1): 58. September–October 1954 – via Internet Archive.
  30. ^ "Fred La Fon, 49, Husband of Dr. Natsui, Dies" Hawai taimusu (April 23, 1963): 3; via Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection.
  31. ^ "Dorothy Natsui Lafon". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 2005-07-22. p. 36. Retrieved 2025-11-15 – via Newspapers.com.