Judy Moss Zimmerman, a lover of nature, art, music, Broadway, travel, coffee ice
cream, her family and friends, and the Boston Red Sox died on August 14, 2026.
She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 8, 1943, to Milton and Edie Moss,
who helped Judy develop a sense of curiosity, hard work, listening to others and her
dedication to her beloved baseball team. Judy’s dad nurtured her intellectual and
athletic talents and her mom helped develop her unique New England fashion style and
brought her every week to Red Sox games on Ladies’ Day at Fenway Park.
Growing up, Judy loved spending time with her two grandmothers. “Grandma” lived with
Judy in her early years in Brookline, sharing Yiddish phrases and cooking all things
Jewish for her “Judalah”. Her “Nanny” shared her wisdom and fashion flair with Judy,
helping her develop a lifelong love of clothes and how to look effortlessly stylish.
Judy’s family moved to Newton when she was in the third grade. She loved exploring
her neighborhood, filled with wooded areas to play hide and seek and a pond where she
loved to ice skate in the winter. In the summer, Judy counted down the days until she
could return to summer camp in New Hampshire. At the end of the summer, Judy loved
spending the time with her parents and brother on vacations on Cape Cod and other
seaside areas. In high school. Judy’s warmth and effervescence drew many friends,
some of whom remain her closest friends today.
Judy’s years at Tufts University’s Eliot-Pearson School of Child Development solidified
her love of elementary education. As a student, Judy learned innovative ways to actively
engage young minds to be curious, adventurous and imaginative, all of which she
carried into her career as an outstanding educator.
After college, Judy taught at schools in Massachusetts, Virgina Beach, and Tinton Falls,
NJ. She often told hilarious stories about her first-grade teaching days, including trying
to teach phonics to students in rural Virgina with her Boston accent. She changed many
young lives and some of her former pupils remain in close contact, still calling her their
favorite teacher.
When Judy moved to New Jersey, she designed and built a beautiful Deck House in
Colts Neck and raised an adorable Old English Sheepdog she named Winston.
Winston, like Judy, had an exuberant personality and especially liked to ride in her little
red Triumph sports car with the top down. During those years, she also was avid scuba
diver with a lifelong love of tropical fish and undersea adventures.
Following her elementary teaching career, Judy enrolled at Rutgers University, first
earning a Master’s degree and then a Doctorate in Elementary Education. While still a
doctoral student, her adviser and mentor asked her to teach two of his courses while he
was on leave, a most unusual honor for a someone who had not yet completed her
degree. While teaching the Foundations of Education class, Judy met Marylu, the love
of her life.
After earning her doctorate, Judy was appointed Assistant Professor of Education at
Rutgers, where she was responsible for teaching classes and supervising student
teachers. Her courses were innovative, rigorous, and inspirational to her students.
Judy left Rutgers to become an elementary school principal at Constable School in
South Brunswick. She was then chosen to design, select staff and create the vision for
Indian Fields School, a technologically cutting-edge elementary school that was
featured in national newspapers and magazine articles. Following her time in South
Brunswick, she served as Assistant Superintendent for Springfield Schools for eight
years, retiring in 2004.
In retirement, her intellectual curiosity and sense of adventure continued as she and
Marylu traveled the globe and audited classes at Princeton University. They loved local
and NYC theater, live Met HD Opera, and Jon Batiste. Judy was inspired by Jon’s wife
Suleika Jaouad and her book “Between Two Kingdoms,” chronicling her struggle with
cancer. Judy was beside herself on the two occasions that she got to meet Jon and
Suleika in person.
In 2020, Judy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She remained optimistic and positive
throughout her rigorous treatments and clinical trials. Her perseverance and resilience
made it possible for her to continue to enjoy world travel, Broadway shows, good food
and numerous wonderful occasions with family and friends. To say that her strength
during this chapter was an inspiration to others is an understatement. Our family is
deeply grateful to the numerous doctors and nurses at the NYU Langone Perlmutter
Cancer Center, her therapeutic team, caregivers, friends and family members who
provided extraordinary care and love for Judy.
Nothing meant more to Judy than her wife Marylu and her daughter Julie. They carry
her love, adventurous spirit and incredible smile in their hearts. Judy is survived by
Marylu; Julie and her partner Taylor; her siblings Stewart and Barbara Moss, Barbra
and Bruce (deceased) London, Maxine and Richard Simon, Lanny and Jill Shore, Bill
Shore (deceased); her cousin Lisa Rose; her nieces and nephews Sara, Michael and
Colette, Christopher and Margaret, Jennifer and Mark, Beth, Doug and Ronli, Carrie and
Ian, Chad and Caroline; and a wide, loving circle of grand and great grand nieces and
nephews as well as her dearest friends.
A celebration of Judy’s life will be held at The Jewish Center of Princeton .,435 Nassau St. Princeton on Tuesday,
August 18 at 10:00 am. Shiva will be observed at her home. In lieu of flowers, the family
requests that donations be made to the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center in
recognition of the extraordinary care Judy received for over six years and to support
others with her diagnosis. Donation information: https://bit.ly/JZMemorial
Arrangements by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel.