Judith Pinsker ’83

Judy died in a hiking accident Dec. 23, 2018. 

At Princeton Judy majored in philosophy, was a member of Colonial Club, and served as a counselor at the Women’s Center. She went on to earn two degrees from Harvard, first a medical degree and later a master’s in public health. 

Judy provided her primary-care patients with exceptional care, expertly and compulsively tending to their needs. She satisfied both her desire to contribute in other ways and her love of Spanish by working with Tufts Timmy Global Health on medical missions in Guatemala and other locations in Central and South America.

Judy spent her life nurturing an ever-growing web of close relationships. She believed the meaning of life has to do with love and human connections. She loved playing the flute and joined multiple orchestras, describing them as “my version of seventh-grade band.” She found comfort and contentment tending to her garden, having dinner with friends, reading with her cats, meeting with her book/eating club, swimming, hiking, and kayaking. Ever quotable, she would approach her sometimes-overstimulating family unit and declare, “OK, I’m out of family, not available.” She was smart, clever, honest, direct, warm, generous, and humble. 

She will be forever loved and missed by her husband, Ben Smith ’83; sons Eric and Jeffrey Pinsker-Smith; extended family; and many friends, who still feel her indelible loving presence.