Judith Raymonde Kruzansky

Judith Raymonde Kruzansky died on July 21, 2026 in Rensselaer, New York, at the age of 97. Born on January 20, 1929 to Solomon Rabinowitz and Rose (Sandler) Rabinowitz in Manhattan,  Judy grew up in the Bronx among many aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and pets; she always said her father was her favorite person and her parents were the best ever. She became the last survivor of her generation in her extended family when her younger brother Lionel (Buddy) Barnet died in 2025. Judy is survived by five children, Deborah (Franz Albanese), Ronald, Caroline, Charles (Barbara), and Richard, as well as two grandchildren, Jacob and Alexandra.

Judy’s mental acuity stayed with her to the end, and she was very opinionated, precisely because she was so well-informed. As a child, she skipped two grades in school, and would pretend to be sick so that she could spend her time at the New York Public Library reading instead of going to class. She read everything she could get her hands on by Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Thackeray, and Washington Irving (her favorite); up until last week, she read every single issue of The New Yorker, The Economist, and The Nation. She was even a member of MENSA in the 1950s. After attending Hunter College in New York, she married Seymour (Sy) Kruzansky in 1952, and they bought and sold trailers near the Aberdeen Proving Ground outside Baltimore while Sy served in the Army.

In the 1970s, she edited a newspaper in New Paltz, NY, worked in a dental office, and volunteered with Ulster County Community Action. In the 1980s, she sold real estate. Throughout her adult life, she wrote letters-to-the-editor of newspapers, admonishing and satirizing the ignorant, and overstating the obvious; her writing was vivid and creative. She lived what could be called a “normal” life while simultaneously developing radical, non-conformist ideas.

Judy loved Scrabble and did New York Times crosswords in ink. She enjoyed arguing about politics, words, history, and books, and she taught us all about these subjects. She was a Bernie supporter before it became cool, and among the best birthdays she had was her 92nd (the gift was Trump leaving the Oval Office). She loved PBS travel and history programs (especially Rick Steves) and British mysteries and drama. She was a gifted musician; she took piano lessons as a child and played in her free time, often music by Schubert, Mozart, or Haydn. Alicia de Larrocha and Arthur Rubinstein were her favorite pianists, Plácido Domingo was her favorite singer, and she particularly loved Spanish classical music and operettas. Her love of music lives on in her daughter Deborah, a flutist, and her grandson Jacob, a pianist.

Judy was a wonderful mother who kept her family together and healthy for many decades. For the last fifteen years, she was able to relax, read, talk, write, listen to music, and enjoy the company of the flowers, animals, and people she loved.

Although Judy was not a religious person, she had very high moral standards and human values (that often soared beyond normal comprehension). Even at 97, with her sharp mind always working, her original and often revolutionary ideas about politics and human nature could be shocking as well as totally unexpected (as well as eye opening). We, her children and grandchildren, will sorely miss her love, her stories, her wisdom, and her opinionated evaluations of every last aspect of life.