Dr. Seymour B. Sarason, professor emeritus of psychology at Yale University and credited with founding the discipline of community psychology, died Thursday at the age of 91 in New Haven.

Professor Sarason joined the Yale faculty in 1945 and taught generations of students for five decades until his retirement in 1989. He published 45 books and numerous articles on psychology, education, and mental retardation. Born in Brooklyn in 1919, he was the son of the late Maxwell and  Anna (Silverlight) Sarason. He was married for 50 years until her death in 1993 to Esther (Kroop) Sarason. He is survived by a daughter Julie of Lowell, MA, her husband Paul Feuerstein, a grandson Nathaniel, a brother Irwin and his wife Barbara of Seattle, WA. He also leaves a brother-in-law Dr. Irving Kroop and his wife Eugenia of Brooklyn, NY. His companion was Dr. Irma Janoff Miller of Stratford. CT.

A funeral service will be held Sunday, January 31, 2010 2:pm at the Weller Funeral Home, 493 Whitney Ave., New Haven. The interment will be in the Beth Israel Cemetery, Fitch St., New Haven. To sign a memorial book please visit wellerfuneralhome.com.