Jack Goldsmith

Jack Goldsmith, a cherished member of the Rossmoor community, passed away on April 10, a week before his 94th birthday.
After a distinguished academic career on the East Coast and Southern California, Jack returned to his native Bay Area in 1999 with beloved wife Barbara Goldsmith, a retirement that he often said eclipsed everything that came before.
During that quarter-century in Vallejo and Rossmoor, Jack was known for his irrepressible wit, prodigious knowledge of current events, passion for world travel and devotion to family.
Jack was born In San Francisco on April 18, 1931 to Clare and Lawrence Goldsmith, who later ran the Allendale and Hopkins movie theaters in Oakland. He drew from those origins a vast knowledge of classic cinema that was as familiar to his family and friends as his waggish sense of humor.
A UC Berkeley grad, Jack completed his political science doctorate at UCLA with a study of police response to the Watts riots. His work continued to focus on criminal justice, but also helped to make the National Parks more welcoming to minorities and to document the contributions of Dust Bowl migrants in California. Faculty posts included the State University of New York, Albany; the American University in Washington, D.C.' and California State University, Bakersfield.
Jack, whose marriages to Joan May and Sharon Sweeney ended in divorce, married Barbara Kaufman Green in 1998. Upon his retirement from Cal State Bakersfield the next year, Jack and Barbara moved to Vallejo and then Rossmoor.
Their travels took Jack and Barbara to Europe's great museums, to the high seas on 20 cruises, to Australia (where Jack and Barbara both had family roots), and onto a canoe in Italy's Blue Grotto (where Jack burst out in spontaneous song).
At Rossmoor, a treasured part of their lives was spending time with Jack's widowed Aunt Ruth Resch, who passed away in 2021. Jack was also predeceased by his older brother Lewis Goldsmith, and by Barbara's son Danny Lee Green Jr.
In addition to Barbara, Jack is survived by his younger brother Ernest Goldsmith (Tanya); nephews Steven Goldsmith (Kristin) and David Goldsmith and niece Julie Goldsmith (José); cousin Sanford Davis; Barbara's son John (Carol) and grandchildren Tyler Green, Kayla Green, Elizabeth Gonzales, Danielle Green, Brandon Obar and Daniel Green.
Interment was at Oakmont Cemetery in Lafayette.