Jack W. Brehm

Jack Brehm, longtime member of the Department of Psychology faculty and
Professor Emeritus at the University of Kansas, died on August 9, 2009 in
Lawrence, at age 81. Born January 16, 1928, in Des Moines, Iowa, Jack served
in the U.S. Navy from 1946-1948, attended Harvard on the G.I. Bill,
graduating magna cum laude in 1952, and earned a Ph.D. in psychology at the
University of Minnesota in 1955. Jack served as a faculty member at Yale from 1955 to 1958 and at Duke from
1958 to 1975 before moving to KU. He is best known for his theory of
reactance, which predicts that people respond to threats to freedom with
efforts to reassert their freedom and choice. Jack is survived by his brother Carl, of Gambier Ohio, nieces Barbara and Susan, and former wife Sharon Stephens Brehm of Bloomington, Indiana. He did
not have biological children, but his children are his many noteworthy
graduate students. Jack loved to travel and had friends all over the world. But his favorite
activity, without doubt, was to entertain at his house, discussing research
ideas over drinks with friends, students, and colleagues. Jack s work was
his life s passion. A memorial service will be held on November 21, 2009, at
2:00 pm in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Memorial Union on the KU campus. Online condolences may be sent at www.rumsey-yost.com. Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home in charge of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.