Jane Ward Newhall, 68, longtime child psychologist

Jane Ward Newhall, 68, of Penn Valley, a child psychologist, died of ovarian cancer Tuesday at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Dr. Newhall was director of psychotherapy services at the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College for 12 years. She initiated a social-skills program for young people, supervised testing, and provided psychotherapy and counseling to patients and their families at the institute. She also lectured to graduate students at Bryn Mawr.

Dr. Newhall previously was on the staff of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center for five years and was an associate faculty member in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She served on the board of the Crossroads School, a private school in Paoli for special-needs children, and was a member of the Orton Dyslexia Society.

She had wisdom and compassion for the children and families in her care, said her husband, John H. Newhall.

A native of South Orange, N.J., Dr. Newhall earned a bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr, where she and her husband met at a mixer. They married in 1961, and after raising three children, Dr. Newhall returned to Bryn Mawr to earn a master's degree in child development and a doctorate in human development. She completed an internship in clinical psychology at the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in Palo Alto, Calif.

Dr. Newhall enjoyed socializing with a group of longtime female friends and spending time with her family on vacations in Seal Harbor, Maine, and Siesta Key, Fla., and on ski trips in the United States, Canada and Europe. She was devoted to her eight grandchildren, her husband said, and taught several of them to swim.

In addition to her husband and grandchildren, Dr. Newhall is survived by sons Thomas and Daniel; a daughter, Carol Neilson; her mother, Dorothy W. Gordon; and a brother.

A memorial service will begin at 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 230 Pennswood Rd., Bryn Mawr.