Judith Goodman

1928 - 2017

Judith Goodman
May 22, 1928-June 10,2017
Santa Cruz, CA
Judith Miriam Goodman was born on May 22, 1928 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. For the past 17 years she lived in and around Santa Cruz, CA. She lived her life on her own terms and in her own way. Judith was a singular individual: fiercely independent, yet passionate about justice and humanity. She spent much of her life writing and reading. She was a poet, a nature lover, and a loving mother and grandmother. In 1947, while attending University of Colorado, she met and married Jerome Stanley Goodman. She worked as a pulp fiction editor in New York City, taught high school English, and later moved to Berkeley, California to raise a family. A visit to Esalen in Big Sur transformed her life from domesticity to one filled with adventure. She moved to Big Sur in 1970 to live the life she'd always wanted. Judith helped found the Big Sur Library, the history museum at Molera State Park, and helped with the Big Sur Historical society, devoting herself to preserving the stories of the pioneers of Big Sur. She authored several books, including "Recipes for Living in Big Sur", "Big Sur Women" and "Big Sur Cats" and several other books of poems. Judith could often be seen trekking the steep trails of Big Sur, the place she loved the most. At age fifty she spent a year living alone in the remote Overstrom Cabin five miles from any road. She founded the "Broom bashers", dedicated to eradicating non-native plants. Later in life, she moved to Santa Cruz to be closer to her children and grandchildren where she joined the "Raging Grannies" political singing group and volunteered at the UCSC Arboretum. She will be dearly missed by her children, Naomi Goodman, Jeffrey Goodman and Rachel Anne Goodman, and grandchildren Anna Goodman, Adam Mussell, Evan Peairs, Micaela Mussell, and Ethan Goodman. Donations can be made to the UCSC Arboretum.