JUDITH SCHILLER

Judith �Judy� Schiller, ne� Holtzer, was a fiercely devoted daughter, mother and grandmother for her 83 years of life. She passed away peacefully on April 21, 2022. She is survived by her children, Suzanne, Marc and his wife Sara, and Howard and his wife Alicia, and her five grandchildren Benjamin, Ellery, Nathaniel, Samantha, and Charlotte.



The only child of Elaine and Isidore Holtzer, she grew up in Queens, New York. At a time when many kids in her area did not leave Queens, Judy�s parents would take her into Manhattan to see theater there, giving her a view into the world beyond her neighborhood. When she was 15 her father became sick and Judy began working to help support her family. This experience helped make her the compassionate, thoughtful, dedicated, and family-oriented person that she was. She later became an editorial assistant for Hearst Magazine where she met her future husband, Lawrence, before moving to Los Angeles. She volunteered at the Foundation for the Junior Blind and would bring her three kids with her to help pick stamps off of envelopes for reuse. She was the uncredited editor of many manuscripts so we give her credit here. She was passionate about voter rights and women�s rights which inspired her own independence. To quote, �I should have a flag and march someplace.�



Judy was a proud mother and proud grandmother. She sought to always ensure her family�s happiness alongside her own. With her eldest daughter, Suzanne, she traveled throughout Spain. She went to Marc�s every basketball game, cheering him win or lose. She remembered fondly how her youngest son, Howard, would move his drawing table into the living room so that they could be together while he sketched. After retiring, Judy moved back across the country for her grandchildren. She went to their concerts, plays, dance performances, and graduations. She was there to embarrass you, tell you you were the absolute best, wrap you in a hug, kiss your cheek and say how proud she was of her amazing kids and their amazing kids.



Judy was independent in a way that she had to fight to be. Upon her divorce she cut her hair, got her own car, a Chevy Caprice that needed a little extra love to get up those steep LA hills, adopted her own dog, a small bossy pup named Schatzie, and became a paralegal. She looked at what she wanted to achieve and said �I�m smart. I can do that.� And she did. Judy had a sharp wit and a particular fondness for word games though she missed Wordle by just a bit. Instead, she kept running Bookworm Deluxe on her ancient laptop and decimating others at Scrabble.



She formed lifelong friendships with equally intelligent and formidable women. Betty, her greatest friend who was her sister by heart, Alice, her professional and personal mentor, Bernice, her sounding board and confidante. These women who find each other and teach each other. Judy was of the philosophy that we are lifelong students and that it is a gift that we get to keep learning new things everyday. She continued to go to lectures from retired college professors until the end, scrawling notes on things to share with friends and family. She always sought people to listen and learn from, support and love.



She was the support beam of her family, the glue, the gardener who cared for us all, who cared so much, about everything, always. Her children and grandchildren learnt so much from her; to love, empathize, appreciate, and understand all comes from her, along with proper comma placement. Judy will be missed dearly. She will live on in the hearts and memories of her family and friends.



Her family will hold a private memorial. Donations in her memory may be made to People For the American Way: People For the American Way or Wayfinder Family Services: Wayfinder Family Services.