It is with sadness that David Solkovits shares the news that his wife of 69 years, Judy Solkovits, passed away on June 11 after a long illness.

Born in 1935 in Pittsburgh, PA, she was a devoted and loving mother of her children and their spouses: Amy (Michael Phillips), Andy (Janice Mills) and Gregg (Lucia Arias), as well as her six granddaughters Cady, Emily, Jessica, Lauren, Samantha, and Victoria, one great granddaughter Tennessee, and two step-grandsons Daniel and Jonathan. 

Judy attained a Bachelors degree at the University of Minnesota, and taught elementary school, first in Minneapolis, and then in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

An advocate for the rights of Substitute Teachers, Judy was part of the group of leaders from three different unions that created the merger of those unions into United Teachers Los Angeles in 1969, becoming the first teacher’s union in the nation that merged AFT and NEA locals. She served as the first Board of Director member for Substitute Teachers, and then was elected to two terms as the UTLA AFT Vice President  

Judy then served as the first female President in the history of United Teachers Los Angeles, meeting such noted elected officials as California Governor Jerry Brown and President Ronald Reagan, and played a key role in getting legislation passed giving California’s public school teachers and counselors collective bargaining rights. She was elected a national Vice President of both the AFT and CFT.

After teaching, Judy served for over 10 years as the Executive Director of clerical unions at the Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. and served as a national Vice President of OPEIU.

Judy and David moved to Redding in 2011, making many friends in their new home, and she will be missed by many up and down the state.  A Celebration of Life will be held in Redding on the weekend of October 3.  For more information, please contact Gregg Solkovits at gsolk@aol.com.