Dr. April Lynn Pavlik BA., M.A., PsyD

Dr. April Lynn Pavlik passed away on 12/23/23, surrounded by her loving family, after a long battle with breast cancer. April was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and went into remission. Her recurrence in 2017 proved especially challenging, but she faced her treatment with stoicism, showing more bravery and will than many could.

She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas, and continued her education at John F. Kennedy University, where she earned her doctorate in Psychology in 2004. April devoted herself and her career to the care of others. In addition to a successful practice as a private therapist in California, she also worked on staff at City of Hope in Pasadena, CA. In 2014 she became a tenured faculty member of the Psychology department of Los Angeles City College.

In the intervening years, April taught thousands of students at LACC. She was a beloved teacher and mentor to many, and her charisma, skill, and knowledge were well known to all. She further served the college as chair of the Curriculum Committee, a position she held while receiving treatment for her cancer recurrence. In the fall of 2020, she moved back to Arkansas to live with family and continued to teach all of her classes online. The students she inspired to pursue careers in Psychology may be her most enduring legacy.

April is remembered by her many friends as smart, funny, beautiful, and irreverent. In the many informal tributes shared on social media, her friends and colleagues praised her as a loving friend, a good listener, a wonderful colleague, and a beautiful soul. She was the life of the party, always quick with a sarcastic one-liner or a fierce hug. She will be missed by so many, but her memory will not soon fade.

April was preceded in death by her grandparents, Ralph and Roberta Titus, and Lieselotte Pavlik.

April is survived by her loving parents, Frank and Annette Pavlik; siblings, Dan Pavlik and Lisa Holmes (and husband Mike); nephews Landon Collier Pavlik and Owen Holmes; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Los Angeles City College (LACC) Scholarship Fund would be greatly appreciated. To donate, go to https://donate.laccfoundation.org/donate and select the “Area of greatest need” as the designation, and put “In memory of Dr. April Pavlik” in the comments section.