Judith G. “Judy” Gordon, a scientist, lifelong Zionist and quiet-but-influential presence in her family whose work helped shape the field of biomedical waste management, died on Sept. 1 in Vail, Colorado, while visiting family. She was 93.
Gordon, a Silver Spring resident, grew up in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, then a heavily Jewish enclave where family, study and community life were closely intertwined. Her father, an immigrant from Ukraine, was a pharmacist, and her mother, also from Ukraine, was a homemaker who helped in the pharmacy. Extended family lived in their three-story home, and academics were emphasized from the start.
She attended Philadelphia High School for Girls, known as Girls High, and graduated first in her class, earning a full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology, she pursued graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a master’s degree in botany.
At Berkeley, she met Yoram “Rami” Gordon, who had moved to Israel from Poland as a child and later fought in the 1948 War of Independence. They met in a chemistry class, became engaged after six weeks and married within six months. She and Rami went on to have two sons, Gilad and Liran.
Early in her career, she faced gender and religious discrimination in science. “She was told by one employer, ‘Why should I hire you? You’ll just quit when you have kids,’” said Liran Gordon. In another position — despite her advanced degrees — she was assigned to spend her days washing eggs. “She didn’t go back for her second day,” he said. Experiences like these shaped her decision to pursue botany rather than medicine, which she felt would be difficult to combine with raising a family at the time.
Zionism had been central to Gordon’s outlook from early on. As a teenager, she joined pro-Israel activities, and the family remembers a newspaper photo of her at a Zionist march in 1947. In 1949, not long after Israel’s independence, she traveled there with her parents and brother. She and Rami moved to Israel in 1955 and stayed for about 11 years. She worked as a translator and editor at the Weizmann Institute. She learned Hebrew and spoke it fluently and formally for the rest of her life. “She spoke perfect Israeli Hebrew — no slang,” said Liran Gordon.
The family returned to the United States in 1966, first to Tucson, where Rami earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering. Gordon supported the household by working in university research labs and set her hours to be home when her sons returned from school.
They later settled in Reston, Virginia, and belonged to Congregation Olam Tikvah in Fairfax.
After moving to the Washington, D.C., area, Gordon became a pioneer in the emerging field of biomedical and infectious-waste management. She worked as a consultant, including at MITRE Corporation and with agencies such as the EPA, NIH and CDC. She edited the “Biohazard Management Handbook” and co-wrote “Infectious and Medical Waste Management.” She is credited with developing the concept of the red sharps containers now found in medical settings worldwide. “She noticed that a lot of workers were getting needle sticks,” said Gilad Gordon, a physician. “She came up with the idea for the hard plastic red boxes. My guess is she saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.”
Gordon’s home life reflected the same steadiness as her career. “She was a quiet but major presence in our lives,” Liran Gordon said. “Introverted, but impactful.” Family conversations often revolved around science, world events and Israel. “It was a very warm household with lots of intellectual discussions,” Gilad Gordon said. “Zionist with a capital Z.”
She volunteered as a docent at the Kennedy Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden, where she also trained new volunteers. Her curiosity never waned. “In her later years, she filled her days with podcasts and webinars,” said Roberta Levin, Gilad Gordon’s partner. “Her quest for knowledge was endless.”
Travel was a lifelong passion. She visited Yellowstone, Yosemite and Crater Lake with her grandchildren, and in her mid-80s tried ziplining, hot-air ballooning and kayaking. “Her only complaint was she lost an earring on the zipline,” Liran Gordon said. At 85, she flew alone to Israel to travel with a grandson who had just completed a high school program there.
Her commitments to Israel, to science used for the public good and to family were consistent and visible. She lived independently at Riderwood in Silver Spring and stayed closely involved in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives. “She was truly adored by her grandchildren,” Gilad Gordon said. “She instilled in them a love of Israel, a love of Judaism and a love of learning.”
Her sons said she modeled values without speeches. She preferred action — studying, working, translating, editing, advising, guiding.
Gordon remained mentally sharp until her sudden illness. Two days before she fell ill, she walked through a garden with family and “could name every plant and every aspect of a plant,” Gilad Gordon said. The day before, she completed The New York Times crossword puzzle in ink. “I’ve been around a lot of intelligent people in my life,” he said. “She is by far the smartest — and also the most humble.”
Asked how she would want to be remembered, her sons pointed to her roles and values rather than her resume. She was a loving mother and grandmother, a Zionist, a scientist and a person of unwavering ethics. “She really took the term tikkun olam and lived it,” Gilad Gordon said. “The world is a better place because she was alive.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
