Theodora Goldstein

GOLDSTEIN--Theodora. July 10, 1918-June 26, 2008. Born in New York to Anna and Meyer Nitzberg, Theo (Teddy) graduated from Hunter College and worked in the biochemistry lab of Nobel Prize winner, Severo Ochoa at NYU. She met the love of her life, Dr. Robert Goldstein, while he was a resident in medicine there. They married in 1941 and she continued to work in the lab while he was overseas as a Navy medical officer. When he returned in 1945, they moved to Boston where she was active in progressive politics, chairing the Massachusetts state committee for Henry Wallace's 1948 bid for president on the Progressive Party ticket. As a result of these activities and her unwavering commitment to peace and social justice, she was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1953. Her fiery defense of the first amendment right to freedom of association in that hearing was a major news story in Washington, DC and Boston. The family moved to New York in 1961 where Bob took a position as Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College. After several years as a homemaker, she went to work as a computer systems analyst until her retirement in the early 1980s. After Bob's retirement they moved to Seattle in 2002. She is survived by her sister Bernice, by her two children, Richard (Nanette) and Erika (Jim) and four grandchildren, Cody, Amelia, Maggie and Kate, and by her loving and devoted husband, Bob. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Washington.