Obituary: Longtime Wilton Resident, Attorney and Civic Leader Judith Zucker, 93

When Wilton officials decided to renovate the Comstock Community Center 10 years ago, they tapped a longtime Wilton resident with a decades-long record of public service — Judith Zucker, then 83 years old — to chair the renovation building committee. Three years later, the $10 million project was completed on time and under budget. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the dedication of the center, Wilton First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice extolled Zucker’s leadership of the project and her lifelong service to the town: “There are very few people who have given as much to this community as Judy has through the years. She has served as a role model for all of us.”

Longtime Wilton resident, attorney, and civic leader Judith Zucker died on October 16 in New York City after a brief illness. She was 93.

Zucker’s first run for public office in Wilton was a 1973 campaign for a seat on the Board of Education. Although a Democrat in what was then an overwhelmingly Republican town, Zucker emerged as the election’s top vote-getter. She went on to serve for two terms on the Board of Education (1974-79), six terms on the Board of Selectmen (1988-99), and 20 years on the Commission on Social Services, including service as the Commission’s chair, with her last term on the Commission ending in 2019 when Zucker was 90. She chaired the Affordable Housing Oversight Committee and the Elderly Tax Relief Committee, served on the board of directors of the Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging, and was actively involved for many years with the Wilton PTA, the League of Women Voters, the Wilton Playshop, the Wilton Food Pantry, and the Wilton Kiwanis Club, where she became the organization’s first woman president in 2001.

Zucker was widely respected throughout the Wilton community and across political party lines for the expertise, commitment, and energy she brought to her many public roles. Steve Pierce, a longtime town employee and Director of Parks & Recreation for the town, worked with Zucker on several projects. “Judy was someone who respected and was deeply kind to all the people involved in the projects on which she worked, from the staff to fellow residents. She set the bar high for commitment to the work and to excellence in all we did. She will remain an example for all us,” Pierce said. Lizabeth Doty, the past Coordinator of Senior Services, echoed the thoughts. “Judy’s indomitable spirit was the driving force of her generous and gracious life.”

Zucker was born Nov. 18, 1929, in New York City, the daughter of Irving and Betty Baron. She graduated from what was then Hunter College High School for Gifted Girls in New York and Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where she graduated summa cum laude and was class valedictorian. She then earned a master’s degree in political science from Columbia University with a special certificate in East Asian Studies. After marrying Dr. Richard Zucker of New York City, Zucker moved in 1954 to Wilton, where she managed her husband’s medical practice, raised four children and became engaged with the town.

At the age of 49, Zucker decided to pursue a career in law. She commuted two hours each way, daily, to attend classes at New York University School of Law, from which she graduated in 1981. After graduation, she joined a practice in Wilton focusing on tax, estate, and probate work. She retired from her practice in 1999. She continued to be an active volunteer in town affairs until moving in August 2022 at age 92 to an apartment in New York City near two of her sons in the Upper West Side neighborhood where she had lived as a child.

Wilton attorney Doug Bayer said Zucker was an inspiration both professionally and personally. “In her legal work, she was so conscientious, diligent, careful, and smart. And in her life, she was so deeply involved, engaged, and intellectually curious. She was extraordinarily dedicated to excellence in all that she did … and her life stands as an example to us all.”

Zucker was recognized as an Honorary Life Member by the League of Women Voters for her decades of public service; was inducted into the Wilton Kiwanis Club Hall of Honor for her many contributions to the organization; received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Wilton Family YMCA “for exemplary and longstanding volunteer service”; and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wilton Democratic Town Committee.

Zucker loved opera and foreign travel. She is survived by her four children — John and Daniel of New York City, Peter of Doylestown, Pa., and Ellen of Brookline, Mass. — four daughters-in-law, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

A memorial tribute honoring Zucker and her exemplary record of public service will take place in Wilton at a later date. Donations in her memory may be made to the Wilton Food Pantry or the Wilton Kiwanis Club Foundation.

Editor’s note: Judy was one of the first public officials I met when I started reporting about Wilton 14 years ago. Energized, sharp and not afraid to speak her mind, she was a dynamic force — an “incredible powerhouse” as we once described her in the caption of a photo of her. She also was an enthusiastic supporter of GOOD Morning Wilton, and would occasionally email her thoughts about a story she’d read that morning and sign off with ‘Bravissimo!’ or ‘Be well, dear friend.’ Judy loved Wilton so much, and GMW was one way to stay connected after her move to New York City. In an email she sent to me last May she wrote, “oh how i miss the town of wilton—having moved to manhattan on august 29th! i depend on GOOD MORNING WILTON to keep me up-to-date on wilton news.” She set the standard for devotion and service to the town. Dear friend, you will be greatly missed. — Heather Borden Herve