Judith L. Powers '72, M.A. '75, Ph.D. '81

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Judith "Judy" L. Powers, historian, educator and beloved mother of two, died on May 17 at the age of 73.

Born in Sylmar, California, on July 7, 1950, Powers was an honors student and athlete at Bishop Alemany High School. The first of her family to attend college, she was awarded a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. (in the history of science) from UCLA. After a year as a post-doctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, she worked as a management consultant in the Boston area before relocating to Washington, D.C., and finding her calling as a science educator, first at the National Presbyterian School and later the Holton-Arms School.

A devoted and loving mother, Powers was an unending source of joy, warmth and whimsy for her children. Seeing herself as an Angeleno in exile, she never stopped trying to bring the city's warm, sun-drenched beauty to the East Coast, no matter how quixotic that quest seemed to the people around her. She delighted in nature, loved to garden, and owned an astounding array of ocean-themed knickknacks. (Her fish-shaped measuring spoons, which were suited to neither measuring nor spooning, were a particular favorite.) Her infectious laugh, natural charm and the sincere joy she took in learning about other people's passions — whether they be political, academic or simply the latest celebrity scandal — endeared her to friends and strangers alike.

A lifelong Dodgers fan and avid sportswoman, Powers played in softball and tennis leagues throughout her life. She loved to write almost as much as she loved to read, and her ability to pick out the perfect book for anyone never ceased to amaze her kids or their friends.

Behind her playful sense of humor and easygoing nature lay a firm moral compass, however. A dogged advocate for political change, justice and peace around the world, she loved underdogs of all kinds. The more hopeless the cause, the harder she fought: she never wavered in her support for socialism, equal rights or 1984 presidential candidate Walter "Fritz" Mondale.

Powers relocated back to her beloved Southern California in 2012, settling first in Santa Monica and more recently in Pasadena, in part to be closer to the Huntington archives. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Anna "Violet" Powers, her brother John Powers and her loyal companion Tazzie. She is survived by her children, Brian K. O'Donnell and Katherine A. O'Donnell, her brother Edward Powers, her sisters Mary Ann Anesi and Dorothy "Dixie" Muinch, and her many nephews and nieces.

Gone too soon, Powers will be missed by all those who loved her and by the many, many people who were touched by her kindness and humor over the years.