Pamela Dee Elkind, Ph.D

Pamela Dee Elkind, Ph.D., age 82, passed away on March 12, 2026. She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of Rose and George Elkind.

Pam devoted her life to understanding the ways in which health, environment, and community shaped one another. A sociologist by training and temperament, her work centered around medical sociology, environmental sociology, rural community life, aging, and the social impacts of policy and development. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Northeastern University, completing joint coursework at Tufts University Medical School, and held both an M.A. and B.A. from Boston University.

Over the course of her academic career, Pam held teaching and visiting appointments at Dartmouth College, Clark University, Northeastern University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the University of New Hampshire, and Boston University. In 1981 she joined Eastern Washington University, where she taught until her retirement in 2010. While at Eastern, she served as Chair of the Department of Sociology, established the Center for Farm Health and Safety, and directed a satellite center of the University of Washington’s Pacific Northwest Agricultural Health and Safety Center. Her research focused on the lived realities of rural and agricultural communities and the health and environmental challenges they face.

Earlier in her career she worked in applied research and consulting, managing social and economic research projects for Environmental Research and Technology, Inc., serving as President of Social Assessment Services, working as a Senior Associate at Harbridge House, and as a Business Research Manager for AT&T Communications. Her work addressed topics including agricultural health and safety, environmental impacts on rural communities, the social consequences of energy development, and physician attitudes in medical practice. Her projects were funded by organizations including NIOSH, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy; Pam published extensively throughout her career.

Outside of her professional life, Pam was profoundly interested in the world’s peoples. She loved to travel, discover new cultures through food, read extensively, and spend time in thoughtful conversation with family and friends. She was especially proud of her Eastern European Jewish heritage and the traditions and history that shaped her family.

Pam is survived by her daughters, Rhonda-T Wallace (Mitch) and Stacey Savatsky (Joseph Adams), and by her grandchildren, Harrison, and Elliott Warren, of whom she was immensely proud. She is also survived by her brother, Fred Elkind (Barbara), her nephews Jeffrey and Andrew, and her grandniece Julie Mae and grandnephew Riley.

She was predeceased by her first husband, Gordon Savatsky, and her second husband, Richard Fleck.

Memorial donations may be made to Spokane Area Jewish Family Services:  https://sajfs.org/donate-or-volunteer/

1322 East 30th Avenue

Spokane, WA 99203

(509) 413-8254

May her memory be a blessing.