Woman who opened eyes about psoriasis dies
Beverly Foster-Halprin raised awareness that the disorder isn't contagious
11/22/03
PATRICK O'NEILL
Because of severe psoriasis, Beverly Foster-Halprin, as a young woman, was chased out of grocery stores and told she couldn't swim in public pools.
At age 30, she founded an organization that would become the National Psoriasis Foundation, which works to educate the public about the disease and today has an annual budget of $6 million.
Foster-Halprin, of Salem, died Nov. 19 of pneumonia at age 67.
The foundation began after Foster-Halprin's then-husband, Larry Foster, placed a small classified advertisement in The Oregonian on her 30th birthday, Aug. 29, 1966. The ad asked readers with the skin disorder to call his wife to let her know she wasn't alone.
"The first week, she got more than 100 calls," said Gail Zimmerman, the charity's president and chief executive officer.
Foster-Halprin arranged meetings in the basement of the Multnomah County Library to let people with psoriasis exchange information.
"It took a lot of courage for Beverly to do this," Zimmerman said. "At the time she started, there was a lot of resistance from the leadership of the dermatology community. They felt it was inappropriate for a patient group to give information to the public."
Physicians at University of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon Health & Science University) helped recruit doctors nationwide to serve on the foundation board of directors, Zimmerman said.
Foster-Halprin also took the psoriasis message to Congress, testifying in favor of federal funding for research into the disease.
Kelley J. Foster, her daughter, said her mother worked tirelessly to spread the word that psoriasis, an autoimmune disorder that creates red, scaly lesions, is not contagious and to end the isolation and discrimination that often accompanies the disease.
Foster-Halprin was born Aug. 29, 1936, in Riverton, Neb., but moved to Portland as a young girl. She attended Jefferson High School. She married Dr. Kenneth M. Halprin in 1989. He died in 1995. Survivors include her daughter, of Portland; son, Michael Warner of Estacada; and sister, Jacqueline Schaeffer of Brooks.
A memorial service is at 1 p.m. Monday at Howell-Edwards-Doerksen Funeral Home in Salem.
Remembrances are suggested to the National Psoriasis Foundation office in Portland. Patrick O'Neill; 503-221-8233;
poneill@news.oregonian.com http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1069506049209410.xml
