Inspired by the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams," Dr. Richard Asarian planted corn and constructed a baseball diamond at his farm in Washington County, holding occasional softball games there with friends and family members.

The fanciful pursuit, they said, suggested his love for life and baseball -- and his belief that everyone, including the troubled people that he served as a clinical psychologist, should strive toward dreams of a better life.

Dr. Asarian, 61, of Scenery Hill, died Tuesday at his home. The cause was a heart attack, said his son, Aram.

In his professional career, Dr. Asarian focused much of his attention on bringing hope to people with behavioral problems, including criminal offenders. But his interests were wide-ranging.

They included religious studies, existential phenomenology and the Chautauqua Institution in New York, which he visited regularly. He was an amateur guitar player, blues singer and songwriter and was an avid fan of Democratic politics and sports teams, especially the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"He loved nature, the environment and creativity in general," his son said.

Of Armenian descent, with a hearty laugh, Dr. Asarian was known for his humor and zest for life.

"He was eccentric in a fun kind of way," said his older brother, Dr. John Asarian, a pediatrician. He noted that his brother had a fuschia-colored hot tub installed in his dining room and, on a trip to Paris, wore a cowboy hat as he sat outside near the Seine River and played his guitar.

He also formed a group of friends, known as the Brotherhood of the Symbolic Stalk, to shake corn stalks at Pirates games.

But friends and colleagues also recalled the optimism and compassion he brought to the people he served.

He was a co-founder of the Ielase Institute, an agency that provided community-based mental health treatment to criminal offenders, said his longtime friend, Earl Hill, program director for a local drug and alcohol treatment program.

In his latest job, director of psychology at Torrance State Hospital, Dr. Asarian helped patients with mental illness, including those struggling with addictions, to focus on their ability to move toward recovery, said Edna McCutcheon, the hospital's chief executive officer.

She recalled how he performed at a professional conference last year with a patient who also played guitar.

"You could see the pure joy on Richard's face," she said, adding that he was concerned with "maximizing the skills our individuals could attain."

Dr. Asarian "could always make you laugh and was a wonderful optimist. He could see the best in everything," said another friend and local epidemiologist, Dr. Melissa Wieland.

Dr. Asarian was born in New York City to Sherman and Zabelle Asarian. His father was a dentist and his mother a homemaker.

After his father joined the Army, the family lived in California, Virginia and Kentucky before settling in the Fresno, Calif. area in the late 1950s.

He received a bachelor's degree from Fresno State University and a master's degree from Sonoma State University before earning a Ph.D. in psychology from Duquesne University in 1981.

For about 20 years, beginning in the mid-1970s, he worked at the Ielase Institute, serving as clinical director. He also worked at other agencies around the area, including several correctional facilities, and served on a state addictions task force.

He had been at Torrance State Hospital since 2006.

Besides his son, of Washington, D.C., and brother, of Chico, Calif., Dr. Asarian is survived by his former wife, Anne Asarian Cummins of Washington, Pa., and three nephews.

Interment will be private. Arrangements are being handled by Hummell and Barnhill Funeral Home. Memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association.

Friends are invited to a memorial service at 7 p.m. Friday at the Century Inn on Route 40 in Scenery Hill.