| School: Cleveland (Commerce) | Graduation Year: 1958 |
Year Inducted: 2015
Sports Played: Swimming
High School Honors: 4-year letter-winner. On State championship teams three times; three-time individual State champion (120 medley, soph; 220 freestyle, junior; and 100 butterfly, senior) and three-time relay team State champion (200 medley, soph. and junior; 160 medley, senior).
Post High School Career: Oregon State University (no women’s swim team). President of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Competed in national AAU meets, set a record in the butterfly. Summer Life guard and swimming instructor at Reed College. Five-time Olympian champion Don Schollander was a student. Inducted into Cleveland High HOF, 2008.
Commentary:
Judith was raised by a single working mother in Portland. They had very little money, and certainly no money to pay for expensive athletic activities. She learned to swim at the YWCA. At the time, the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC) had an outstanding swim program, including some world-class Olympic champions such as Maureen Murphy and Don Schollander. MAC took note of Judith’s skill and recruited her to be on its team. Through that, she competed in regional and national AAU events.
Swimming gave mom a way to distinguish herself, to gain confidence, and to have experiences that would otherwise likely have been out of her reach. Her athletic career, both at MAC and Cleveland High School, was a great equalizer that allowed her to dare dream beyond her financial circumstances. It did not require her to have a lot of money, to wear new clothes, or to drive a shiny car. It required her to work hard and take advantage of her talent, which she did. (Submitted by her family.)