Recalling a great lady, family

To the Editor:

I first met Judy McGowan in the mid-seventies. It’s hard to believe we were friends for over 45 years. Her recent passing was not only a tremendous loss for her family and friends, but it was a huge loss for our community and beyond.

When I first met the McGowan family, Judy, Andy and their three sons were residents of Kingsbridge Heights, as was I. They eventually moved to Riverdale, as did I. You couldn’t meet a more loving and caring family.

It was through political organizing that I first met Judy. She and I were both volunteers in the FDR Independent Democratic Club on Kingsbridge Road. She ran to be elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976. We both served as officers of the FDR Club and volunteered on many campaigns for liberal Democratic candidates. Through the magic of redistricting in 1982, our neighborhood was moved into the district represented by the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, where we both served in many capacities over the years.

I was the Democratic Male District Leader from 1986 until my election to the Assembly in 1994, and Judy was the Democratic Female District Leader from 1990 to 1996. She was the Democratic State Committeewoman from 2000 to 2004. She was an officer or executive committee member of the Ben Franklin Club for many years. Her energy, enthusiasm and tireless work on the campaigns of Congressman Eliot Engel, myself and so many others were boundless.

Judy’s work as a volunteer in politics was only one facet of her life. She had a deep commitment to education and to the betterment of children. As a school librarian for many years, she went above and beyond in working with her students. She stood up to the bureaucracy to fight against the scandalously high cost of school textbooks. She also successfully fought to create school libraries in schools without them.

Judy had a deep commitment to the Irish community and to many of the issues of particularly concern to the Irish community, including some of the more controversial ones. She never forgot who she was.

But most of all, Judy was an incredible family person — a loving wife, mother and grandmother. I love the McGowan family. It’s so hard to imagine them without Judy. Her family will miss her most of all, but she will be missed by countless people whose lives she touched and made better, including me.

Jeffrey Dinowitz

The author is assemblyman representing the 81st District