Judy Zimmerman

Judy Moss Zimmerman

1943 – 2026

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, Virginia 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 are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel.