Judith Elizabeth (Linscott) Martin

Judith Martin, Educator who Championed Opportunity, Curiosity and Love, Dies at 76

Judith Elizabeth Linscott Martin, educator, martial artist and tireless advocate for opportunity for all people, died on September 25, 2024, after a five-year battle with cancer.

Judith was an accomplished public-education administrator and former teacher who taught in California, Massachusetts and Maryland, led schools in Novato and Petaluma, developed curriculum for various school districts and oversaw a critical program at College of Marin for aspiring teachers. She was instrumental in achieving California Distinguished School status for two different elementary schools. She worked as a consultant who helped teachers learn to teach reading effectively. As a Sonoma County Office of Education executive, she oversaw and delivered training for aspiring school administrators.

Throughout her life, Judith strove to open doors that were closed to many. As a teacher in Gonzales, CA in the 1970s, that meant helping first-generation American students learn how to learn. As a leader in education, it meant helping families access resources and helping young teachers access a career path. As a young civil rights activist, it meant standing with those born with less opportunity and fighting for their right to achieve the greatness she believed was present in everyone.

Judith’s greatest love was her family. She is survived by her husband of 51 years, John Martin, and her three sons and their families: Adam Martin, Gregory Martin and Daniel Martin. Even as she battled cancer in her final years, Judith found rejuvenation and energy in her beloved grandchildren: Elliana Martin, daughter of Gregory Martin and Elizabeth Martin, and Charles and Frederick Martin, sons of Adam Martin and Sarah Martin.

Judith married John in August 1973 and they cemented their bond with a tumultuous cross-country road trip in a 1970 Volkswagen bus. This rain-soaked journey from California to Cambridge symbolized their path through life, facing hardship and triumph as partners who relied on one another for support, humor and love. They modeled devotion for their children and strengthened every community they joined.

As a mother, Judith was kind, funny and endlessly supportive of her children. She read us Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny and Love You Forever. She popped popcorn and taught us Chutes and Ladders. She helped us navigate school and social situations as adolescent hormones clouded our judgment, and she offered perspectives and advice when we entered university and then the workplace. All three of us continued to seek her thoughts on parenting, learning and navigating the world, through her last days.

As a grandmother, Judith embodied for her three grandchildren the warmth and tenderness that all children seek. But she was more than just a kindly old lady: she was their friend and greatest fan. She talked to them as equals, asking about their lives, helping them find new

passions and kindling their talents whenever they expressed an interest in gymnastics, drawing, bikes, marine biology, Pokémon, stuffies, dancing, movies, basketball, jiu jitsu, whales, cats, reading, baking, elephants, singing and even (though she would shudder) snakes.

The daughter of an Irish immigrant mother and a Coastguardsman from Kansas, Judith was born in San Francisco but soon moved to Concord, CA, where she spent her childhood. Judith was the first in her family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1970, a master’s degree in education at Harvard University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in education at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1992.

As a leader, Judith continuously sought to improve herself, her colleagues and the organizations she worked with. It was through this pursuit that she found her way to Aikido and the community at Two Rock Aikido Dojo. Judith dedicated herself to the practice, finding connection and focus through physical training and mental discipline. She also found valued friendships and community with the many others in the dojo who shared her love of learning, training and the pursuit of mental clarity.

After raising three kids, helping shape the course of public education in California and attending approximately 1,000 school assemblies, Judith traveled the country and the world. She visited Adam in New York, Indonesia and Hong Kong; she travelled Europe and Mexico with John, including time in Ireland, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic.

Judith brought out the best in everyone she met. The surgeries and chemotherapy that followed her ovarian cancer diagnosis couldn’t diminish this quality in her as she formed positive connections with the nurses, doctors and other personnel at Kaiser Permanente who cared for her. The Martin family will remain grateful to this team who helped her live for five years after her diagnosis and who helped her maintain through her last day the dignity, intelligence and compassion that defined her.

We will miss her and love her forever.

Judith will be remembered and celebrated by her friends and family on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 3:00PM at the facilities of Unity in Marin, 600 Palm Drive, Novato CA, 94949. Please contact John Martin (jfm7175200@gmail.com or 1-415-717-5200) if you need additional information about the event.