Judith Hoffman

Judith Hoffman, a resident of White Plains and the Edgebrook section of Greenburgh for almost 58 years, died Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 at White Plains Hospital Center of the affects of a second battle with ovarian cancer. She was 75.
She worked a total of 46 years as a legal secretary during two tours of duty with the White Plains law firm of Bleakley Platt & Schmidt.
Judy was born Oct. 19, 1934 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, to Ruben and Gilda Pelz Greenbaum. In May, 1938, when her father, a tailor, completed his maneuvers with the Czech Army and foresaw trouble on the horizon, he packed his family of three and they traveled to Cherbourg, France. There, financed partly by Gilda's dowry, they took the just-new Queen Mary and sailed to New York in advance of the Nazi invasion of their country.
Judy Greenbaum was raised in the Bronx where she graduated in 1951 with honors from Evander Childs High School at age 16. She accepted a position as secretary in the legal department of the State Liquor Authority while studying at night City College of New York. On Nov. 22, 1952, she and Milton Hoffman of White Plains were married in the Bronx. They raised two children, Marjorie, who died in 1999, and Jeffrey, who resides in Arlington, Va.
Judy and Milton joined the Hebrew Institute of White Plains shortly after their marriage, and she served as a member of its Sisterhood and also the parent organization of the synagogue's religious school. In her early years as a member of Ladies Auxiliary of White Plains Post 191, Jewish War Veterans, she delivered packages to men and women at local railroad stations who were headed for military service. She also volunteered for Auxiliary events at Ft. Slocum, New Rochelle, and the Veterans Administration Hospital at Montrose.
Later, she sometimes accompanied her husband, a former reporter and editor of what is now The Journal News, to news events he covered, including the Democratic presidential convention in San Francisco in 1984 and the Republican presidential convention in New Orleans in 1988. When, in 1970, her husband was assigned to cover TWA's inaugural of its 747 flight to Rome, she told him: "You're not going to Italy on my birthday without me,"� bought a ticket and shared five days on the trip with him.
Judy rarely missed school performances of granddaughter, Dana in the Bedford schools, and also traveled to Arlington to witness performances by granddaughters Larissa and Liza Gibbs.
She was an avid reader. Following her retirement from Bleakley Platt & Schmidt Dec. 31, 2006, she enjoyed the programs for seniors at the Greenburgh Multipurpose Center--including trips to Broadway shows.
Besides Milton, her husband of 57 years, she is survived by her son, Jeffrey Hoffman and his wife, Debra Kaplan of Arlington, granddaughters, Dana Hoffman of Bedford and Larissa and Liza Gibbs of Arlington; her sister, Roselle Gordon of Port St. Lucie, Fla, as well as her sibling in-laws Lawrence and Myra Hoffman of Chatham, NJ, and Ethel and Asher Mintz of Lake Worth, Fla., and their children and grandchildren.
The family is appreciative of the care rendered to Judy at White Plains Hospital Center, Westchester Institute for Treatment of Cancer and Blood Disorders, and the Hebrew Hospital Home of Westchester.
Funeral services will be conducted Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Hebrew Institute, 20 Greenridge Avenue, White Plains, 10605, followed by interment at Sharon Gardens section of Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla. Contributions in Judy's memory may be made to the Hebrew Institute or to a charity of choice. Because of the current holiday of Sukkot, the period for shiva at the Hoffman home will not begin until after nightfall on Saturday, Oct. 2nd.