Obituary: Judith Jacobs Rich

Judith Jacobs Rich of Montclair, a longtime teacher and former member of the Montclair Board of Education, died on Oct. 6, 2022, in New York City. She was 72.

Mrs. Rich was born in Newark to Phyllis and Joseph Jacobs in 1949. She grew up in West Orange and graduated from West Orange High School in 1967. 

She went on to earn her bachelor of arts in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, her master’s in the teaching of reading from New York University and her principal certification from Montclair State College.

Mrs. Rich was a dedicated public school teacher for many years, starting her career at Satellite Academy High School in Manhattan. Later, she was an adjunct professor at Bloomfield College and then worked for more than a decade as a high school English teacher in the Paterson public schools. She led a troop of high school-aged Girl Scouts for many of those years.

Her love and enthusiasm for public education also led her to an appointment on the Montclair Board of Education, where she served one term. Even after her stint on the board, she was a volunteer, booster and supporter of PTAs and Montclair High School activities and athletics. 

Over the years, Mrs. Rich was an active member of the League of Women Voters and board member of the Montclair Fund of Educational Excellence.

After retiring from teaching, her favorite hobbies were traveling, binge-watching British murder-mysteries and spoiling and spending time with her grandchildren. She was also a steadfast believer in the Democratic Party and frequently got worked up about the sorry state of the world and of the nation’s political system.

Mrs. Rich is survived her husband, Robert, of Montclair; her brother, Hank Jacobs, of New York City; her sister-in-law, Ilene Rich, of New York City; her son, Benjamin Rich (Karen Ancharski) of Washington, D.C.; her daughter, Joanna Bunting (Daniel), of London, and five grandchildren, Jacob and Mark Rich and Paul, Hannah and Adam Bunting. 

She was preceded in death by her parents. 

A funeral service will be held at Temple Ner Tamid, 936 Broad St., Bloomfield, at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, with burial to follow at Beth Israel Memorial Park in Woodbridge.

Shiva will be held at the Rich home from 7 to 9 p.m. on both Monday, Oct. 10, and Tuesday, Oct. 11. 

Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Toni’s Kitchen in Montclair.

Arrangements were by Jewish Memorial Chapel, Clifton.